India-The Modi Question: US breaks silence on 2002 Gujarat riots, BBC documentary; says ‘not familiar…’
British media establishment BBC has recently released a documentary that has kicked up a major political row and controversy in India. The BBC documentary has been named ‘India: The Modi Question’ and political parties in India have conflicting views.
Days after the release of the documentary by the British media company, the United States officially addressed the issue regarding the two-part film series, backing the diplomatic ties in India and saying that it is “not familiar” with the documentary in question.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Monday answered a question surrounding the BBC documentary which talked about the 2002 Gujarat riots in India. Price said that he was “not familiar with the documentary” which has kicked up a controversy.
During the media briefing, the US spokesperson said, “I’m not familiar with the documentary you’re referring to, however, I am very familiar with the shared values that enact the United States and India as two thriving and vibrant democracies.”
Ned Price said, “I’m not aware of this documentary that you point to, but I will say broadly, is that there are a number of elements that undergird the global strategic partnership that we have with our Indian partners.”
The spokesperson further talked about the close economical and political ties between US and India, as well as the people-to-people ties between both communities. However, he did not comment on the nature of the contents of the BBC documentary.
Earlier, United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressed the controversy regarding ‘India: The Modi Question’ and distanced himself from the portrayal of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the film.
Defending PM Modi, UK PM Rishi Sunak said, “The UK government’s position on this has been clear and longstanding 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 characterisation that the honourable gentleman has put forward to.”
The Ministry of External Affairs in India had previously denounced the BBC documentary, calling it a propaganda film against PM Narendra Modi.
(With ANI inputs)
