New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP, Derek O’Brien Saturday triggered a controversy alleging that Twitter has taken down one of his tweets on the controversial BBC documentary "India: The Modi Question" at the request of the Indian Government. Posting a mail from the microblogging site which said his tweet was deleted at the request of the Indian government claiming it violated laws in India, the Rajya Sabha MP termed it as "censorship".
“CENSORSHIP. @Twitter @TwitterIndia HAS TAKEN DOWN MY TWEET of the #BBCDocumentary, it received lakhs of views. The 1 hr @BBC docu exposes how PM @narendramodi HATES MINORITIES,” the Trinamool Congress leader tweeted. Uploading the mail, he has received from the microblogging site, Brien wrote, “Here’s the mail I received. Also see flimsy reason given. Oppn will continue to fight the good fight."
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CENSORSHIP@Twitter @TwitterIndia HAS TAKEN DOWN MY TWEET of the #BBCDocumentary, it received lakhs of views
— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) January 21, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
The 1 hr @BBC docu exposes how PM @narendramodi HATES MINORITIES
Here’s👇the mail I recieved. Also see flimsy reason given. Oppn will continue to fight the good fight pic.twitter.com/8lfR0XPViJ
">CENSORSHIP@Twitter @TwitterIndia HAS TAKEN DOWN MY TWEET of the #BBCDocumentary, it received lakhs of views
— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) January 21, 2023
The 1 hr @BBC docu exposes how PM @narendramodi HATES MINORITIES
Here’s👇the mail I recieved. Also see flimsy reason given. Oppn will continue to fight the good fight pic.twitter.com/8lfR0XPViJCENSORSHIP@Twitter @TwitterIndia HAS TAKEN DOWN MY TWEET of the #BBCDocumentary, it received lakhs of views
— Derek O'Brien | ডেরেক ও'ব্রায়েন (@derekobrienmp) January 21, 2023
The 1 hr @BBC docu exposes how PM @narendramodi HATES MINORITIES
Here’s👇the mail I recieved. Also see flimsy reason given. Oppn will continue to fight the good fight pic.twitter.com/8lfR0XPViJ
The BBC documentary has been at the centre of controversy for the last couple of days. On Thursday, a day after BBC aired the first part of the two-part documentary focusing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s and his then state government’s response to the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Centre said it was a “propaganda piece” which lacked “objectivity” and reflected a “colonial mindset”.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi later said, “Do note that this (the documentary) has not been screened in India. So, I am only going to comment in the context of what I have heard about it and what my colleagues have seen. Let me just make it very clear that we think this is a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative”.
The controversy reached the British Parliament when UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak distancing himself from the BBC documentary series, said he "doesn't agree with the characterization" of his Indian counterpart.
"The UK government's position on this has been clear and long-standing and hasn't changed, of course, we don't tolerate persecution where it appears anywhere but I am not sure I agree at all with the characterization that the honourable gentleman has put forward to," Sunak said after the Pakistan-origin MP Imran Hussain raised the issue in the Parliament.
BBC, however, defended its position saying that it has approached a range of voices. "A wide range of voices, witnesses and experts were approached, and we have featured a range of opinions that includes responses from people in the BJP. We offered the Indian Government a right to reply to the matters raised in the series and they declined to respond," the BBC spokesperson said.
