Rishi Sunak shuts down Pak-origin UK MP over BBC documentary against PM Modi

London, Jan 19: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday came to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support over the BBC's controversial documentary series, saying he "doesn't agree with the characterization" of his Indian counterpart.

The issue was raised by Pakistan-origin MP Imran Hussain in the UK Parliament. "The UK government's position on this has been clear and long-standing and hasn't changed, of course, we don't tolerate persecution where it appears anywhere but I am not sure I agree at all with the characterization that the honourable gentleman has put forward to," ANI quoted Sunak as saying while responding to Hussain's question on the BBC report.

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. Following the outage, the documentary removed it from select platforms.

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.

Meanwhile, 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.

Referring to apparent remarks made by former UK Secretary Jack Straw in the documentary series, Bagchi said "He (Jack Straw) seems to be referring to some internal UK report. How do I have access to that? It's a 20-year-old report. Why would we jump on it now? Just because Jack says it how do they lend it that much legitimacy." "I heard words like inquiry and investigations. There is a reason why we use the colonial mindset. We don't use words loosely. What inquiry they were diplomats there...investigation, are they ruling the country? Bagchi asked.