Rahul Gandhi said that truth always comes out and it cannot be suppressed using law enforcement agencies, while reacting to the BBC documentary on Gujarat riots. "The truth always comes out and banning of the press and using institutions like ED and CBI against people can't suppress the truth from coming out," he said.
The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had issued directions to block multiple YouTube videos that published the first episode of the BBC Documentary India: The Modi Question. Orders were also issued to Twitter for blocking of over 50 tweets containing the links of the concerned videos. The directions were issued by Secretary, Union Information and Broadcasting on Friday using the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021. Both YouTube and Twitter complied with the directions. It is reported that YouTube has also been instructed to block the video if it is again uploaded on its platform. Twitter has also been directed to identify and block the tweets containing the link to the video on other platforms.
The ban was made citing its ‘sensitive’ nature. The documentary alleges that at the time of the Gujarat riots, the police had been stopped from taking action. Citing an internal UK government report that had been classified so far, the documentary says that, according to the British team that conducted the inquiry, “Narendra Modi is directly responsible." The inquiry team’s report in 2002 also purportedly said that the riots were to purge Muslims from Gujarat.
The documentary produced by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was earlier called a "propaganda piece" that lacks objectivity and reflects colonial mindset by the External Affairs Ministry.
With inputs from IANS.