Jammu, Jan 24: Amid a row over the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said any kind of ban, oppression and frightening people are not going to stop the truth from coming out.

The government on Friday had directed social media platforms Twitter and YouTube to block links to the documentary titled "India: The Modi Question".

The Ministry of External Affairs has criticised the documentary as a "propaganda piece" that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.

Asked about the issue at a press conference during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi said, "If you read our scriptures, if you read Bhagavad Gita or you read the Upanishads, you will see in it, it is written that the truth cannot be hidden. The truth always comes out."

"So, you can ban, you can suppress the press, you can control the institutions, you can use CBI, ED all the stuff, but, the truth is the truth. Truth shines bright. It has a nasty habit of coming out. So, no amount of banning, oppression and frightening people is going to stop the truth from coming out," he said.

The Congress on Saturday had criticised the government for the "censorship" of the BBC documentary, asking why had then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee reminded Modi of 'raj dharma' after the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has slammed the controversial documentary, saying India's image cannot be disgraced with "malicious campaigns".

The Centre has told YouTube and Twitter to take down fresh links to the documentary if someone uploads or tweets them again, according to sources.

The MEA had condemned the BBC documentary, which has not been screened in India, alleging it was designed "to push a particular discredited narrative".

"The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset is blatantly visible," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had told reporters during a press briefing in New Delhi last week when asked about the controversial series.

A Supreme Court-appointed investigation had found no evidence of wrongdoing by PM Modi, who was chief minister of Gujarat when the riots broke out in February 2002.

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Bengaluru (PTI): ISRO on Thursday successfully performed the docking of satellites as part of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX).

"India docked its name in space history! Good Morning India ISRO’s SpaDeX mission accomplishes historic docking success. Proud to witness this moment!", ISRO said in a post on 'X'.

Earlier on January 12, ISRO brought the two spacecraft to three metres and then moved them back to safe distance in its trial attempt to dock the satellites.

ISRO had successfully launched the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission on December 30, 2024.

The PSLV C60 rocket carrying two small satellites, SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target), along with 24 payloads, had lifted off from the first launchpad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, and about 15 minutes after liftoff, the two small spacecraft weighing about 220 kg each were launched into a 475-km circular orbit as intended.

According to ISRO, the SpaDeX mission is a cost-effective technology demonstrator mission for the demonstration of in-space docking using two small spacecraft that was launched by PSLV.

In space, docking technology is essential when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve common mission objectives.