UK PM Rishi Sunak defends PM Modi over controversial BBC series
London, Jan 19: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has come out in defence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a controversial BBC documentary claimed that the British government was aware about the Indian leader having an alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Sunak said he does not agree with the characterisation of Prime Minister Modi by Pakistani-origin Imran Hussain, an Opposition Labour Party MP, when he asked if the British premier agreed with claims in the BBC programme that some UK Foreign Office diplomats believed that "Modi was directly responsible".
During Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Hussain raised the claims made in the first part of India: The Modi Question' that UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) knew the "extent of Narendra Modi's involvement", then Gujarat chief minister, in the communal clashes that claimed hundreds of lives.
"The UK government's position on that is clear and long standing, and it has not changed," Sunak responded.
"Of course, we do not tolerate persecution anywhere, but I am not sure that I agree at all with the characterisation that the hon. gentleman has put forward," the British prime minister said.
The Indian government has, meanwhile, condemned the BBC Panorama programme, which has not been screened in India, as a propaganda piece with a questionable agenda behind it.
"We think that this is a propaganda piece, designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset is blatantly visible," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters during a press briefing in New Delhi on Thursday when asked about the controversial series.
The first part of the two-part India: The Modi Question' programme, which aired on BBC Two on Tuesday, was categorised by the UK tax-payer funded broadcaster as "a look at the tensions between Indian PM Narendra Modi and India's Muslim minority, investigating claims about his role in 2002 riots that left over a thousand dead".
The second part of the series, scheduled to be aired next Tuesday, is pegged as a "look at the troubled relationship between Indian PM Narendra Modi's government and India's Muslim minority following his re-election in 2019".
"We strongly condemn the BBC's malicious documentary India: The Modi Question," said Insight UK, among several diaspora groups who have taken to social media to condemn the documentary.
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AAP's Sanjay Singh alleges attack on party councillor
New Delhi (PTI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh on Thursday alleged that a party councillor and a worker were assaulted in west Delhi and demanded that the police register an FIR and take action against those involved.
Addressing a press conference, Singh said the incident occurred on Wednesday when AAP councillor Jyoti Gautam visited her ward to inspect ongoing road work along with party worker Sanjay Bhairava in Rajendra Nagar constituency.
He alleged, "Some individuals linked to BJP MLA Umang Bajaj attacked the worker and misbehaved with the councillor."
There was no immediate reaction available from the BJP over the allegations.
Singh claimed that Gautam later approached the police station and sought registration of an FIR, stating that the incident and injuries had been medically documented.
He urged the Union Home Ministry and the Delhi Police to take immediate action in the matter.
The AAP MP also referred to a separate case involving former party MLA Somesh Shokeen, alleging that he had received threats and an extortion demand of Rs 10 crore.
Singh said a complaint had been submitted to the police and called for a prompt investigation.
He said he would raise both issues in Parliament and before the parliamentary committee on home affairs.
STORY | AAP's Sanjay Singh alleges attack on party councillor
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 12, 2026
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh on Thursday alleged that a party councillor and a worker were assaulted in west Delhi and demanded that the police register an FIR and take action against those involved.
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