India blocks BBC documentary on Modi from airing in India - Reuters India

MUMBAI, Jan 22 (Reuters) - India has blocked the airing of a BBC documentary which questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's enactment during the 2002 Gujarat riots, saying that adjacent sharing of immoderate clips via societal media is barred.

Directions to artifact the clips from being shared person been issued utilizing exigency powers disposable to the authorities nether the country's accusation exertion rules, said Kanchan Gupta, an advisor to the government, connected his Twitter grip connected Saturday.

While the BBC has not aired the documentary successful India, the video was uploaded connected immoderate YouTube channels, Gupta said.

The authorities has issued orders to Twitter to artifact implicit 50 tweets linking to the video of the documentary and YouTube has been instructed to artifact immoderate uploads of the video, Gupta said. Both YouTube and Twitter person complied with the directions, helium added.

Modi was the main curate of the occidental authorities of Gujarat erstwhile it was gripped by communal riots that near much than 1,000 radical dead, by authorities number - astir of them Muslims. The unit erupted aft a bid carrying Hindu pilgrims caught fire, sidesplitting 59.

Human rights activists estimation astatine slightest treble that fig died successful the rioting.

Modi denied accusations that helium failed to halt the rioting. A peculiar probe squad appointed by the Supreme Court to analyse the relation of Modi and others successful the unit said successful a 541-page study successful 2012 it could find nary grounds to prosecute the past main minister.

Modi was aboriginal named the caput of his party, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which helium led to powerfulness successful wide elections successful 2014 and past successful 2019.

Last week, a spokesperson for India's overseas ministry termed the BBC documentary a "propaganda piece" meant to propulsion a "discredited narrative".

Reporting by Ira Dugal; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan

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