London:
The British government has defended the BBC as a media outlet “independent in its output” in the wake of widespread protests by Indian expatriates against the controversial documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing reporters in Downing Street on Wednesday, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman echoed a statement by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in parliament earlier this week to add that the government continues to invest in its relationship with India.
“The BBC is independent in its output and we want to emphasize that we continue to view India as an incredibly important international partner,” the spokesperson said in response to a question about India’s condemnation of the documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’. the prime minister’s role in the 2002 Godhra riots.
“We will be investing heavily in our relationship with India in the coming decades and we are confident that it will only get stronger,” the spokesman said.
It followed a similar reply from Cleverly in the House of Commons on Tuesday, when he responded to a question from a Conservative Party colleague about the assurances the British government had given India following the coordinated expatriate protests against the BBC over the weekend .
“I recently had the opportunity to speak with India’s High Commissioner, Vikram Doraiswami, on these and a number of other issues,” the foreign minister told MPs.
“We recognize how this image of the Indian government has played out in India. I have made it clear that the BBC is independent in its output, that the UK views India as an incredibly important international partner and that we will invest heavily in that relationship. in the coming decades,” he said.
The minister was answering a question from Tory MP Bob Blackman, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Hindus, who called the documentary “anti-Indian propaganda” and asked about steps being taken to “make our Commonwealth partner reassure’. that this propaganda is not the policy of this government”.
Smartly met Doraiswami at the India Global Forum’s UK-India Parliamentary Lunch last week and addressed the gathering of parliamentarians and business leaders on strengthening bilateral ties in all areas.
“In terms of trade, we are well into negotiating what has all the hallmarks of a true global standard bilateral trade relationship because we have this wonderful bilateral relationship that I like to think of as unique,” he said at the time.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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