Recently, the Indian government banned a BBC documentary titled ‘India: The Modi Question’ which focused on the Gujarat riots. The decision sparked widespread criticism from various political parties. In an attempt to uncover the reasons behind the ban, the national spokesperson of the All India Trinamool Congress Saket Gokhale has filed a Right to Information (RTI) request.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) responded, citing Rule 16 of the IT Rules 2021 and claiming that the ban was based on the recommendations of the Inter Departmental Committee (IDC). However, the spokesperson questioned the Ministry’s response and vowed to file an appeal demanding transparency.
Saket Gokhale sought information on the grounds for the ban on the BBC documentary and requested access to all relevant files, correspondences, and memos pertaining to the decision.
Criticizing the response, the spokesperson wrote, “Rule 16 allows Ministry to block digital content ‘in cases of emergency’ only”. He added, “After that, the ministry is required to constitute an inter-departmental committee (IDC) to review the ban”.
Further, he quoted rule 17 of IT rules that says “Ministry shall maintain complete records of proceedings of the committee (IDC) including complaints referred and recommendations made by the committee. There, the proceeding of the IDC are public records under RTI Act”.
Quoting the rules, he said, “Despite this, Ministry refused to tell me the reasons behind banning the BBC documentary on PM Modi”.
Mentioning the received reply ‘affect sovereignty and integrity of India’, he questioned ‘How does a documentary criticizing PM Modi affect India’s sovereignty, integrity and national security’.
He added, “An appeal will be filed asking the ministry be directed to immediately release the deliberations of IDC and why BBC documentary on PM Modi was banned on grounds of ‘sovereignity & integrity of India”.
