ISLAMABAD: Rami Ranger, a Conservative peer, has been accused of writing a “racially charged” letter to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), asking if the broadcaster’s Pakistani staffers were behind its recent documentary about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership during the 2002 riots in the Indian state of Gujarat, The Guardian reported on Monday.
Ranger hit out at the documentary, titled “India: The Modi Question,” that has caused significant controversy in India and been banned by Indian authorities over the depiction of Modi’s role in the 2002 riots that killed at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims.
Lord Ranger, who is already under investigation by the standards commissioners in the House, wrote to the BBC director general, Tim Davie, to complain about the film and demanded to know “if your Pakistani-origin staff were behind this nonsense,” according to The Guardian report.
In response to Ranger’s scathing attack on the BBC, Chris Elmore, Labour’s vice-chair, said it was unacceptable for the Tory peer to “put pressure on the BBC in this way” and called his comments about Pakistani journalists “racially charged” and “deplorable,” demanding an explanation from UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
“What he is doing about the scandal and sleaze engulfing his party from all angles and how this meets his promise of integrity, professionalism and accountability,” The Guardian quoted Elmore as asking PM Sunak.
The two-part BBC program alleges that Modi had ordered police to turn a blind eye to deadly riots while he was chief minister of the Gujarat state.
Modi, who aims for a third term in elections next year, has been haunted for decades by allegations of complicity in the violence. He has previously denied accusations that he failed to stop the rioting, and in 2013 an Indian supreme court panel said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him.
The BBC said it had yet to receive Ranger’s letter, but the broadcaster defended the journalists behind the documentary on Modi.
The film was “rigorously researched according to highest editorial standards” and the corporation was “committed to highlighting important issues from around the world,” a BBC spokesperson said.
“A wide range of voices, witnesses and experts were approached, and we have featured a range of opinions – this includes responses from people in the BJP [Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party],” the BBC spokesperson was quoted as saying.
“We offered the Indian government a right to reply to the matters raised in the series – it declined to respond.”
