BBC documentary on PM Modi was 'illegally banned’, claims TMC’s Saket Gokhale after receiving RTI query reply

Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale on Thursday shared a response he got in an RTI (Right to Information) query related to the banning of BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The RTI query reply said that the proceedings of the inter-departmental committee are confidential and are exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act, 2005.

Gokhale claimed that the BBC documentary was illegally banned and explained why he thinks that Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s (MIB) is hiding information.

The TMC spokesperson sharing the RTI documents in a Twitter thread, which stated that the Rule 16 allows MIB to block digital content in cases of emergency and only after that the Ministry is required to constitute an Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) to review the ban. The IDC can only recommend and not order the judgement.

He explained that the Ministry shall maintain complete records of proceedings of the IDC including complaints referred & recommendation made by the Committee.

“Despite Rule 17 of IT Rules specifying that deliberation of the IDC are public records, MIB refused to tell me the reasons behind banning the BBC documentary on PM Modi,” added Gokhale.

The two-part documentary based on 2002 Gujarat riots during Modi's tenure as chief minister, ignited a significant uproar in India. The government denounced it as a propaganda work and imposed a ban on its distribution and viewing within the country.

Gokhale stated that he would now be lodging an appeal requesting the ministry to promptly disclose the discussions of the IDC (Inter-Ministerial Committee) and the reasons behind the ban imposed on the BBC documentary about Modi, citing concerns related to the "sovereignty and integrity of India".

“Modi is NOT India. His criticism cannot be BANNED as a ‘threat to India’,” he concluded.

YouTube and Twitter were instructed by the Centre to remove video links of the documentary, while university administrations across different institutions prohibited students from screening the film and took action against those who did. However, despite the ban, student organisations and opposition parties organised public viewings of the documentary.

In February, tax authorities conducted searches at the offices of BBC in New Delhi and Mumbai, following the documentary's emergence as a political controversy.

Earlier in June, BBC was found guilty of tax evasion, admitting it underreported Rs 40 crore of income in its tax returns. BBC has been directed to file revised returns and pay all of its dues, Hindustan Times reported citing two CBDT officials.

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