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TMC Leader’s RTI Seeks Grounds for Banning BBC Documentary on Modi

It comes on the heels of the Supreme Court's decision last week to stay the West Bengal government's ban order on public screening of 'The Kerala Story.' 

Team Clarion

NEW DELHI — A Right to Information (RTI) application has been filed with the Information and Broadcast Ministry seeking copies of files related to the ban on BBC’s documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The RTI was filed on Tuesday by Trinamool Congress (TMC) national spokesperson Saket Gokhale.

The RTI seeks “the grounds on which the documentary titled ‘India: the Modi Question’ produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has been banned in India”.

“While the Modi government was promoting Sudipto Sen’s controversial movie ‘The Kerala Story’, why were they “massively insecure” about people watching the BBC documentary,” asked Gokhale, media reports quoted him as saying.

“BJP & Modi Govt went into an uproar when the hate propaganda film ‘The Kerala Story’ was banned by the Govt of West Bengal on grounds of law & order. However, BJP & Modi Govt banned the BBC documentary ‘India: the Modi Question’ in January by invoking emergency laws & powers. PM Modi himself promotes ‘The Kerala Story’ along with his ministers but is massively insecure about people watching the BBC documentary. Why the double standards?” Gokhale tweeted. 

He further added: “If BJP genuinely claims to stand for ‘freedom of expression’, why not allow people to watch the BBC documentary & decide for themselves? Why the hypocrisy? I’ve, therefore, filed an RTI with the I&B Ministry asking for copies of all files relating to the decision of banning the BBC documentary. ‘Freedom of expression’ cannot be invoked when it is suitable to the BJP & films be banned when they expose the reality of that party.”

The RTI further asked the ministry to “furnish all files, file notings, correspondence, and memos relating to the decision of instituting a ban on the aforementioned documentary”.

The RTI comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision last week to stay the West Bengal government’s ban order on public screening of ‘The Kerala Story.’ The ruling said the order passed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s government was not based on any material produced before the top court.

Banerjee then said, “West Bengal government has decided to ban the movie ‘The Kerala Story’. This is to avoid any incident of hatred and violence, and to maintain peace in the state… What is ‘The Kashmir Files’? It was to humiliate one section. What is ‘The Kerala Story’?… It is distorted.”

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