Jack Straw who appeared on BBC documentary is known to have been a liar

New Delhi, Jan 25: Despite India having blocked its airing, controversies surrounding the the BBC's new documentary 'India: The Modi Question' refuse to die down. The Centre had last week directed blocking of multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the documentary. Both YouTube and Twitter complied with the government after directions were reportedly issued by Secretary, Information and Broadcasting on Friday using the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021.

The BBC, which has all along attempted to isolate Hindus by selectively reporting crimes against Hindus, came up with a series that discusses PM Modi's role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The second and final episode of the BBC documentary was released yesterday which examines the track record of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government following his re-election in 2019.

The documentary shows series of controversial policies - the removal of Kashmir's special status guaranteed under Article 370 of the Indian constitution and a citizenship law that many said treated Muslims unfairly - has been accompanied by reports of violent attacks on Muslims by Hindus.

However, the ministry of external affairs had trashed the documentary as a "propaganda piece" that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.

The BBC documentary also shows interview with Jack Straw, who was Britain's foreign secretary at the time of the riots. The report was based on an inquiry by the UK High Commission, commissioned under Straw. In leaked clips, Straw is heard saying the team sent to Gujarat to probe the Godhra riots had done a "thorough job".

As far as his claims are concerned, Straw has been an habitual liar and has lied on several occasions. He had allegedly lied about Saddam Hussein's non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction to legitimise the Iraq war, which led to the death of about 3 lakh Iraqi citizens. Not just this, the foreign secretary in Tony Blair government, attacked journalists for exposing lies.

In 2015, Straw was branded a "liar" in the House of Commons as he justified Britain's involvement in the Iraq War in 2003. Back in 2003, Straw admitted that dossier on Iraq's WMD caused an "embarrassment" for the UK government. He, however, in 2016, did not talk much about the claims he made in the dossier to justify the invasion which he once asserted "haunted" him ever since.