India on Thursday described a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots as a "propaganda piece" designed to push a particular "discredited narrative".
The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset are blatantly visible, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing while replying to a volley of questions on the documentary. Bagchi said the documentary is a reflection on the agency and individuals that are peddling "this narrative" again.
"It makes us wonder about the purpose of this exercise and agenda behind it," he said.
The BBC's two-part series called "India: The Modi Question", was released on Tuesday and clips of it have gone viral since then provoking sharp reactions. The series tracks his journey to power, starting with a detailed look at events in Gujarat in 2002, when Modi was effectively accused of allowing a massacre of Muslims.
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"A look at tensions between Indian PM Narendra Modi and India's Muslim minority, investigating claims about his role in the 2002 riots that left over a thousand dead," says the series descriptor.
Several opponents took to Twitter to urge people to watch the documentary. However, the documentary has been taken down from YouTube and cannot be viewed in India. "It makes us wonder about the agenda behind it," the foreign ministry said.
In June last year, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court upheld the Special Investigation Team's (SIT) clean chit to then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and 63 others in the 2002 riots in the state and dismissed a plea by slain Congress leader Ehsan Jafri's wife Zakia Jafri. The apex court backed the clearance to PM Modi and said the case was "devoid of merits" and was filed "obviously, for ulterior design".
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In 2013, when a local court cleared him of any role in one of the biggest massacres during the riots, PM Modi said in a post: "Satyameva Jayate (the truth prevails)".
