'It came at a time when India assumed G20 presidency': Kerala Guv questions timing of BBC documentary

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 25: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Wednesday questioned the timing of the release of the controversial BBC documentary -- "India: The Modi Question" -- saying it came at a time when India assumed the presidency of the G20.

Khan, speaking to reporters here, also said that he is surprised that people are attaching more importance to the opinion of a foreign documentary maker, "that too our colonial masters", than the verdict of the highest court of the land., as reported by PTI.

"So many judicial verdicts, including that of the highest court of the land, the timing, all these things have to be taken into consideration. This is a time when India has assumed the G20 presidency. "Why has this particular time been chosen to bring out this scurrilous material? You cannot ignore these things and particularly when it is coming from a source who ruled over us for over 200 years," the Governor said.

Earlier, Youth organizations affiliated with the Opposition parties and student outfits screened the first episode of BBC's India: The Modi Question across Kerala to lodge a protest against the Centre's recent move to ban it on social media. A similar attempt at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was prevented by the authorities, leading to group viewings on personal devices.

The Centre had last week directed blocking of multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the documentary. The two-part BBC documentary, which claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots, has been trashed by the Ministry of External Affairs as a "propaganda piece" that lacked objectivity and reflected a "colonial mindset".

The central government's move has received sharp criticism from opposition parties like the Congress and the TMC for imposing "censorship".