BBC series on PM Modi shown in Kerala, BJP youth wing protests

Thiruvananthapuram:

The controversial BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi ruled the western state, was screened across Kerala on Tuesday by various political organisations, including the Left Students Federation of India (SFI), as the BJP youth wing staged a protest. did. resist screening

BBC’s “India: The Modi Question” was screened in several parts of the state on Tuesday, against which BJP’s Yuva Morcha took out protest marches.

Tension prevailed in some areas of Kerala, including the state capital, where police had to use water cannons and tear gas to disperse Yuva Morcha protesters.

Yuva Morcha workers also gathered at Poojappura in Thiruvananthapuram where the documentary was screened.

More screening took place in some colleges in Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday evening.

However, the BJP found support from unexpected quarters as senior Congress leader and son of former Kerala Chief Minister AK Antony, Anil expressed his displeasure against the documentary.

Protest marches were taken out by the Yuva Morcha to Victoria College in Palakkad and Government Law College in Ernakulam, where the SFI announced the screening of the documentary.

In both places, the police intervened to disperse the protesters and prevent any clashes.

DYFI, the youth wing of the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala, said it would screen the documentary not only in the southern state, but across India.

DYFI state secretary VK Sanoj told reporters that it should be shown to the public despite efforts by the central government to hide it.

He added that there is nothing “anti-national” about the screening of the documentary as it has not been banned.

Sanoj said that DYFI was not interested in creating an atmosphere of conflict in the state or the country.

The CPI(M) also came out in support of the screening of the documentary and its state secretary MV Govindan said that people should oppose the ban on its screening.

He said that ideas should not be banned and that doing so would only attract more attention to them.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala expressed a similar view when he said that blocking the screening of the documentary was undemocratic and a violation of freedom of expression.

He further said that no matter how much the central government tries to hide it, it cannot be covered.

Meanwhile, former Chief Minister Antony’s son Anil has come out in clear support of the BJP in the ongoing political storm in the state, saying the British broadcaster’s views on Indian institutions would “undermine” the country’s sovereignty.

“Despite major differences with the BJP, I think they (in India) hold the views of the BBC, a state sponsored channel (perceived in India) with a long history of prejudices, and Jack Straw, the brains behind the Iraq War , (Indian) institutions are setting a dangerous precedent, will undermine our sovereignty,” Anil Antony, who until recently handled the digital communications of the party’s Kerala unit, tweeted. Straw was the then British Foreign Secretary in 2002.

Earlier in the day, various political groups in Kerala announced that they would be screening the documentary, prompting the BJP to urge Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to intervene and put a stop to such attempts.

The documentary created a political storm in the state by announcing on its Facebook page, DYFI, the youth wing of the CPI(M), that it would be screened in the state.

Subsequently, the SFI – a pro-Left student organization affiliated with the CPI(M) – and various wings of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), including the Youth Congress, announced that they would be screening the documentary in the state.

The minority cell of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) also said that the documentary would be screened in all the district headquarters of the state on Republic Day.

The BJP termed such a move as “anti-national” and asked the Chief Minister of Kerala to immediately intervene and put an end to such attempts from the very beginning.

BJP state president K Surendran complained to Vijayan demanding that the screening of the documentary not be allowed in the state.

In his complaint, Surendran said that the screening of the documentary would amount to condoning foreign moves to endanger the unity and integrity of the country.

He also said that the purpose of re-living the unfortunate events of two decades ago was to “inflame religious tension”.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan also urged the Chief Minister not to allow the screening of the documentary and sought his immediate intervention in the matter.

In a Facebook post, Muraleedharan said the reintroduction of charges quashed by the Supreme Court raises questions about the credibility of the country’s highest court.

Both Muraleedharan and Surendran have termed the screening of the documentary as “sedition”.

The SFI had earlier in the day said in a Facebook post that the documentary would be screened in various college campuses in the state.

State Youth Congress President Shafi Parambil said in a social media post that memories of betrayal and genocide cannot be hidden from power and the BBC documentary will be shown in Kerala.

KPCC minority cell president, advocate Shihabuddin Karyat, said in a statement that the documentary would be screened at district headquarters of the party on Republic Day in view of the undeclared ban on it in the country.

The Center had last week directed the blocking of Twitter posts sharing links to several YouTube videos and documentaries.

A two-part BBC documentary, which claimed it examined certain aspects related to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of that state, has been dismissed as a “propaganda piece” by the Ministry of External Affairs. was given which lacked objectivity. and reflects a “colonial mindset”.

The directions to block access were issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Friday using emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021.

The central government’s move to impose “censorship” has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties such as the Congress and the TMC.

At the same time a group of 302 ex-judges, ex-bureaucrats and veterans described the BBC documentary as a motivated charge sheet against “our leader, a fellow Indian and a patriot” and a reflection of “dying”. Negativity and unrelenting prejudice”. PTI HMP SS SS

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