GUWAHATI:
Amidst stiff opposition from various political parties, including Congress, AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front) and CPI-M, Assam Legislative Assembly on March 21 passed a resolution to take “strict” action against BBC for airing a “fabricated” documentary that was used as a “tool-kit” to “defame” Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of the country.
The Sankalpa Resolution moved by BJP MLA Bhuban Chandra Pegu said: “BBC seems to be working with a hidden agenda against the country and the government of India.
The resolution sought the state legislature to ask the Central government to take strict action against the “fabricated BBC documentary”.
BBC published a documentary about an incident that happened 20 years ago and it was nothing but an “agenda” against PM Modi whose prestige, image and leadership have been appreciated internationally, the resolution stated.
It also added that the documentary overlooks the courts in India, including the Supreme Court, and the state government-appointed Nanavati Commission, which gave a clean chit to the then chief minister Modi.
Replying to the debate over the resolution, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma all these allegations of involvement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the erstwhile state government of Gujarat have been found false by a three=-member judge bench of the Supreme Court. The supreme court even criticized some of the NGOs and opposition parties for pursuing the case.”
“We can’t avoid two more things in the House. We live in a globalised forum. We have to keep in our mind the time at which the BBC released the documentary. They released the documentary at a time when India led by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to assume the Presidency of G20 meetings in the country,” Sarma said.
Justifying that the issue has a concern with Assam, Sarma said the BBC had released the documentary at a time when delegates from other countries came to Assam for G20 meetings. There were 5 G20 meetings which took place in the state in February and March, he said.
“They want to challenge the Indian judiciary. So why we will allow a foreign agency to defame our Prime Minister? The BBC not only defamed the Prime Ministers but every citizen of India,” the chief minister said.
“The way the BBC criticised India, why they were silent over the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, why they were silent over Patharughat massacre? Why there were silent on Kanalata Barua’s killing? They never go against the colonialism of the British,” Sarma said.
Sarma further said that they are now hatching a political conspiracy against India because India has surpassed this colonial country in GDP growth, which has been possible under PM Narenda Modi, “Under the leadership of PM Modi, India has attained 5th position in the world in GDP growth. Earlier India was in 11th position in the world. We will be 4th within 2027,” he said.
Stating that the Supreme Court has given clean chit to PM Modi, he questioned as to why they did not release the documentary before the Supreme Court judgement?
Earlier, moving his Sankalpa Resolution in the House, BJP MLA Bhuban Chandra Pegu said: “It is on being perturbed by the systematic attack that has been engineered to malign India’s global standing, that I would like to request this House to move this resolution against the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) malicious two-part documentary, the ‘Modi Question’.”
“We the members of this House believe that the documentary has sought to instigate religious communities and flare religious tensions,” Pegu said.
“It is unsurprising that such motives are the handiwork of the British, who appear to be repeating their sinister actions. However, India today is sovereign, independent and free. The BBC documentary is a sorry attempt at destroying India’s vibrant social fabric. It is on this account, and as an assertion of the sovereignty and democracy of India, that I would like to request this House to vehemently opposes the BBC Documentary,” Pegu added.
Opposing the resolution, Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia said the issue is not an issue concerned with the state government as according to rule 117 (G), only matters primarily concerned with the state government should be brought up for discussion.
“The BBC is a foreign agency and the Central government is taking action against them. So it is a less important issue for us,” Saikia said.
“All citizens including the press have the right to freedom of speech,” he said.
Echoing a similar opinion. Congress leader Bharat Chandra Narah urged the House to withdraw the resolution and discuss other important issues in the House.
CPI-M MLA Manoranjaan Talukdar, AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam, and Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi also opposed the resolution and urged for withdrawal of the resolution from the House.
As the opposition members staged a walkout from the House, the resolution was passed in the House in a voice vote.