MUMBAI, Jan 22 (Reuters) – India has blocked the airing of a BBC documentary which questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s management through the 2002 Gujarat riots, saying that even sharing of any clips through social media is barred.
Directions to dam the clips from being shared have been issued utilizing emergency powers accessible to the federal government beneath the nation’s info expertise guidelines, stated Kanchan Gupta, an adviser to the federal government, on his Twitter deal with on Saturday.
While the BBC has not aired the documentary in India, the video was uploaded on some YouTube channels, Gupta stated.
The authorities has issued orders to Twitter to dam over 50 tweets linking to the video of the documentary and YouTube has been instructed to dam any uploads of the video, Gupta stated. Both YouTube and Twitter have complied with the instructions, he added.
Modi was the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat when it was gripped by communal riots that left greater than 1,000 folks lifeless, by authorities rely – most of them Muslims. The violence erupted after a practice carrying Hindu pilgrims caught hearth, killing 59.
Human rights activists estimate no less than double that quantity died in the rioting.
Modi denied accusations that he didn’t cease the rioting. A particular investigation crew appointed by the Supreme Court to analyze the function of Modi and others in the violence stated in a 541-page report in 2012 it might discover no proof to prosecute the then chief minister.
Modi was later named the pinnacle of his get together, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which he led to energy in normal elections in 2014 after which in 2019.
Last week, a spokesperson for India’s international ministry termed the BBC documentary a “propaganda piece” meant to push a “discredited narrative”.
Reporting by Ira Dugal; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan
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