New Delhi: Terming BBC’s documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “propaganda video” and a “disgusting piece of shoddy journalism”, British MP Bob Blackman has said it should never have been released and has not seen it . “All important facts” that the Supreme Court of India has examined in the claims against Narendra Modi in relation to the 2002 riots and found that there is not a shred of evidence to support them.
In an interview with ANI, Blackman also spoke about the issue “around the review of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) tax affairs” in the context of the Income Tax Department’s survey in its offices in India and said “It is nothing It is new and has been going on for a long time”.
He said that talks have taken place between the two income tax officer in India and the BBC and the broadcaster will have to comply with the relevant rules and regulations. Blackman, a member of the ruling Conservatives and MP for Harrow East, said that as chief minister of Gujarat in 2002, Narendra Modi had done his best to try and appeal for calm during the riots.
Blackman accused the BBC documentary of blasphemy and said it was deeply regrettable as it appeared as if the BBC had an agenda to sabotage UK-India relations. “I think it’s a huge shame.” Noting that the British government regards India as a strong friend and a strong ally and that the two countries were negotiating a trade deal, he said that anything that hinders the process is deeply regrettable.
The British MP said that the Indian government under the leadership of PM Modi has done a remarkable job of transforming the country’s economy and it is on its way to becoming the world’s leading economy. Blackman said the BBC video on PM Modi was “full of mockery” and was produced and overseen by an outside organization british broadcaster,
“The so-called documentary which is more of a propaganda video if you like in a two-part series … (was) an outrageous piece of shoddy journalism with attacks on Narendra Modi, both during his time as Chief Minister of Gujarat and Then his time as prime minister ….(was) completely full of sarcasm,” the British MP said.
“It should never have been broadcast by the BBC because the BBC has a worldwide reputation. People think, Oh my God, it must be true. But, it was produced by an outside organization overseen by the BBC….it (The documentary) is far from the truth… It did not really delve into the causes of the Gujarat riots 20 years ago and certainly did not take into account the important fact that the Supreme Court had done a thorough analysis of all the claims against Narendra. Modi and found that there is not a shred of evidence to support him,” he said.
Bob Blackman has been the Conservative Member of Parliament for Harrow East since 2010. After being ousted, he served as the Greater London Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow for four years. labor leader on GLA in June 2004.
According to his website, Blackman was also a councilor for Preston Ward in Brent for 24 years, serving as leader of the Brent Conservatives from 1990 to 2010, before stepping down to stand as the Conservative candidate for Harrow East. before.
The UK MP said that as Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2002, Narendra Modi had sought additional police resources not only within Gujarat but also outside and eventually called in the army to help quell the riots.
“They showed a film appealing to them to remain calm and encouraging people not to riot… (they) put together a whole series of different montages with different people… I was involved in Don’t know the people but it was clear he had a grudge against Narendra Modi,” Blackman said.
The central government had last month issued directions to block YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the controversial BBC documentary `India: The Modi Question`. mindset”. Referring to the tax survey, Blackman said the BBC had to make sure “they are caught up with the rules and regulations”.
“Obviously, this is a survey where the Income Tax authorities look to gather evidence to establish whether the BBC is doing anything wrong, I would say quite openly, this is the work of the BBC and work within India. is making sure they’ve stuck to the rules and regulations, and I’m sure that’ll clear up very quickly, but you know it’s up to the tax authorities… (for) the BBC Work here to make sure they’re caught up with the rules,” he said.
The British ruling party MP said that some sections are seeing this action as an attack on the media which according to the MP was not an accurate assessment.
“It’s a review, it’s a survey… the moment allegations or anything like that is suggested… let the authorities work, let the BBC work as they have done openly and transparently, all Providing access to records and all information and allowing the tax authorities to come to their conclusions. I am sure we will clarify very quickly as this is for the benefit of the tax authorities and the BBC.”
The income tax surveys in the Indian offices of the BBC began on Tuesday. Sources had said that the Income Tax Department had conducted a survey in the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai in view of “willful non-compliance” with “transfer pricing rules and huge diversion of its profits”. The survey was completed on Thursday.
Asked whether the BBC documentary might in any way reflect the point of view of the British government, Blackman rejected any such suggestion, saying that the BBC is not part of the British government. He said that the British Government regards India as a strong friend and a strong ally.
“Let’s be very clear, the BBC is not a part of the British government. In fact, the BBC often criticizes the British government and really, to be fair, criticizes all of the British government which is their job, their job question is to ask, seek evidence. But the key here is you can ask questions but you shouldn’t object when the evidence is to the contrary and that’s clearly not the case I think that’s the difference here, which I This is extremely regrettable as it appears as if the BBC had some sort of agenda to disrupt UK-India relations,” Bob Blackman told ANI.
Blackman said that he had asked the British government about its policy and was told that the BBC is an independent organization, they should do what they want to do but it is not the policy of the British government.
“The British Government regards India as a strong friend and a strong ally. We signed an agreement a year ago, which is now an agreement on security, defense and other matters, and which reflects the goodwill between our countries. does. We are two countries with a shared past.” And we have a tremendous future ahead of us and we are currently negotiating what could be an incredible free trade deal that will benefit India and the United Kingdom. So, anything that disrupts that is deeply regrettable, especially when it has to do with our foundation,” added Blackman.
He hoped that the documentary episode would not affect the relations between India and Britain. Answering a question, he said that the one thing he agreed with in the “campaign video” was the last remark that Narendra Modi and the BJP government would probably be re-elected next time and later.
“So they deserve it because the Government of India has done a remarkable job under Narendra Modi of transforming the economy in India, making India the fifth largest economy in the world, on its way to becoming the leading economy in the world. The way It has been in operation since 2000 and is the most populous country in the world. We also have to celebrate that India is the largest democracy in the world where the government can be changed if the people so decide,” Blackman said.
“From that point of view, it is very important that we build friendship, we build relationship between the two countries and we do that because obviously India has a G20 role this year.”
Blackman, who has been an MP since May 2010, said India will host world leaders this year and “it is important that we strengthen our good relations”. Same for India and the United Kingdom,” he said.