Congress screens BBC documentary on PM Modi in Kerala amid controversy and ban

The Congress unit in Kerala today screened the controversial BBC documentary focusing on PM Narendra Modi in capital Thiruvananthapuram. The central government on Friday ordered the blocking of tweets sharing a BBC documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The tweets through which the YouTube link of the BBC documentary has been shared have also been blocked. Significantly, Anil Antony, son of veteran Congress leader and former Kerala CM AK Antony, has resigned from the party after objecting to this BBC documentary. Anil Antony had alleged that he was forced to delete his tweet after he objected to the BBC documentary on PM Modi. Expressing a different opinion from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's stand on this issue, Anil Antony wrote in a tweet, "Prefering British broadcaster's views to Indian institutions will 'undermine' the country's sovereignty".

Anil Antony had said he had "no problem" with anyone in the Congress party, including Rahul Gandhi, but "in the 75th year of our independence, we cannot allow foreigners or their institutions to undermine our sovereignty". The statement by 'Junior Antony' came on the same day Rahul Gandhi, while speaking to reporters in Jammu during his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', questioned the government's efforts to prevent online sharing of the documentary in the country Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi had said, "If you read our Vedas, Bhagavad Gita or Upanishads, you will see that it is written there that truth cannot be hidden. Truth always comes out." Said, "That's why you can ban the press, you can suppress it, you can control the institutions, you can use CBI, ED etc but the truth is the truth. Truth shines different because Any ban, repression and threatening people will not stop the truth from coming out.

The Ministry of External Affairs had described this BBC documentary as part of such propaganda which reflects the colonial mindset. Opposition leaders have fiercely targeted the Center on this issue. When Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, there were fierce riots there. Significantly, the committee constituted on the instructions of the Supreme Court to investigate the Gujarat riots had given a clean chit to Narendra Modi. The committee did not find any evidence against Modi in the case.