The truth always comes out: Rahul targets PM Modi on BBC series

New Delhi, Jan 24: Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the controversial BBC series, saying no amount of banning and frightening people will stop the truth from coming out.

"If you have read our scriptures, if you read Bhagwat Gita or the Upanishads... you can observe that the truth always comes out. You can ban... you can suppress the press... you can control the institutions, you can use CBI, ED (Enforcement Directorate) and all the stuff but truth is truth," Hindustan Times quoted Gandhi as saying.

His statement comes on a day when BBC is set to air the second part of the two-part series 'India: The Modi Question'."Truth shines bright. It has a nasty habit of coming out. So no amount of banning, oppression and frightening people is going to stop the truth from coming out," he added.

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 series examines how "Narendra Modi's premiership has been dogged by persistent allegations about the attitude of his government towards India's Muslim population" and "a series of controversial policies" implemented by Modi following his 2019 re-election, including "the removal of Kashmir's special status guaranteed under Article 370" and "a citizenship law that many said treated Muslims unfairly", which "has been accompanied by reports of violent attacks on Muslims by Hindus," the BBC states.

On the other hand, the Ministry of External Affairs has lashed out at the series calling it a "propaganda piece." "Do note that this has not been screened in India...We think that this is a propaganda piece, designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset is blatantly visible," ANI quoted External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi as saying.

"If anything, this film or documentary is a reflection on the agency & individuals that are peddling this narrative again. It makes us wonder about the purpose of this exercise &the agenda behind it. Frankly, we don't wish to dignify such efforts," he added.

However, the Centre banned the controversial series and directed the social media platforms to remove the links sharing the video clips online.

On the other hand, a section of students at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) screened the BBC documentary on its campus, prompting the University authorities to seek a report.

The documentary was screened on Sunday by a group of students under the banner ''Fraternity Movement- HCU unit'', on the campus of the UoH, also known as Hyderabad Central University (HCU). However, no permission was sought by the students' group from the authorities before screening the documentary and they got know about it only after the members of ABVP complained to the varsity's Registrar in this regard, official sources at UoH said on Tuesday. The University has asked for a report from its security wing over the matter, they said.

Also, the CPI (M)'s Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) has said that it would screen the documentary, India: The Modi Question at 200 different venues in Kerala on January 24 and January 25.