Waste of Supreme Court's time: Rijiju on plea against blocking of BBC documentary

On January 21, the Centre issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the controversial BBC documentary.

New Delhi, Jan 30: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday lambasted those moving the Supreme Court challenging the Centre's decision to block a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, saying this is how they "waste" precious time of the top court.

Responding on Twitter Rijiju said that "this is how they waste the precious time of Hon'ble Supreme Court where thousands of common citizens are waiting and seeking dates for justice".

This is how they waste the precious time of Hon'ble Supreme Court where thousands of common citizens are waiting and seeking dates for Justice. https://t.co/5kouG8Px2K

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) January 30, 2023

Veteran journalist N Ram, activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan and others have moved the Supreme Court challenging the Centre's decision to block the documentary "India: The Modi Question" on social media.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Monday took note of the submissions of lawyer M L Sharma and senior advocate C U Singh, appearing for N Ram and Bhushan, seeking urgent listing of their separate PILs on the issue.

On January 21, the Centre issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the controversial BBC documentary.

According to the BBC, the series will examine 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 Ministry of External Affairs has trashed the documentary as a "propaganda piece" that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.

Meanwhile, the students' association at Pune's Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) said on Saturday that they had screened the documentary on the campus on January 26.

"On January 26, we screened the banned BBC documentary 'The Modi Question' at FTII. Throughout history, the banning of literature, music, and in recent times, media, has been a sign of a crumbling society," it said in a statement.

"The act of scrutiny should be welcomed by our elected representatives. Instead, they quickly tag it as false propaganda and try to shove it under the rug. They should know that the sure-fire way for something to be watched is to ban it," it further said.

Over the past few days, students at many educational institutes, including the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University and Ambedkar University in the national capital, have tried to screen the controversial BBC documentary.