BBC Documentary Row: BJP MP Mahesh Jethmalani Says British Broadcaster Took Money from China To Spread Anti-India Propaganda

NEW DELHI: Amid ongoing protests against the Centre’s ban on screening of the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots, BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Jethmalani has accused the British broadcaster of taking money from China to propagate its anti-India agenda. Jethmalani – a renowned senior lawyer at the Supreme Court of India, took to Twitter and alleged that the British Broadcaster "desperately needed money". He also shared an article by the weekly British magazine The Spectator and took a swipe at the BBC, asking if “it was for sale?"

“Why is #BBC so anti-India? Because it needs money desperately enough to take it from Chinese state linked Huawei (see link) & pursue the latter’s agenda (BBC a fellow traveller, Comrade Jairam?) It’s a simple cash-for-propaganda deal. BBC is up for sale," he tweeted.

Why is #BBC so anti-India? Because it needs money desperately enough to take it from Chinese state linked Huawei (see link) & pursue the latter’s agenda (BBC a fellow traveller, Comrade ⁦Jairam?)It’s a simple cash-for-propaganda deal. BBC is up for sale https://t.co/jSySg542pl — Mahesh Jethmalani (@JethmalaniM) January 31, 2023

The article shared by the BJP MP has been written by columnist Steerpike that says the BBC is facing criticism for partnering with Huawei, the Chinese tech company sanctioned by the US in 2019 and banned from the UK’s 5G network in 2020, to fund its overseas journalistic activities. 

Expressing similar concerns, BJP's in-charge of its communication wing Amit Malviya said that the BBC documentary is being used to “torpedo India’s growth story”.

The BJP Rajya Sabha MP’s tweet came at a time when protests are being held across the India against Centre’s ban on screening of the controversial BBC documentary on Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Opposition parties have attacked the Narendra Modi government over “censorship” and its ban on screening of the BBC documentary. The Opposition has alleged that the government is restricting freedom of speech under the garb of the claim that it is a "propaganda piece".

The two-part BBC series "India: The Modi Question" has stirred controversy since its release. While the documentary claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state, the BJP government at the Centre has termed the series a “propaganda piece” that lacked objectivity and reflected a "colonial mindset". 

On January 21, the Centre issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the controversial BBC documentary "India: The Modi Question". British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ‘too defended Prime Minister Modi over the BBC documentary, asserting that he "didn't agree with the characterisation? of his Indian counterpart. However, the BBC defended the controversial documentary as "rigorously researched according to the highest editorial standards.’’

Amid al this, the Supreme Court of India has agreed to hear several PILs challenging the Centre’s ban on the screening of the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots - a move that Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said was a “waste of the Supreme Court’s precious time."