UK Defends BBC Independence, Says “Investing Heavily” In Ties With India

London:

The UK authorities has defended the BBC as a media outlet “impartial in its output” within the wake of widespread Indian expats protests in opposition to the controversial documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Addressing reporters at Downing Road on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson echoed a press release issued by Overseas Secretary James Cleverly in Parliament earlier this week so as to add that the federal government continues to put money into its relationship with India.

“The BBC is impartial in its output and we might stress that we proceed to treat India as an extremely vital worldwide companion,” the spokesperson mentioned in response to a query about India’s condemnation of the documentary ‘India: The Modi Query’ questioning the then chief minister’s position within the 2002 Godhra riots.

“We shall be investing closely in our relationship with India over the approaching many years and we’re assured it would solely go from energy to energy,” the spokesperson mentioned.

It adopted an analogous response by Cleverly within the Home of Commons on Tuesday, when he responded to a query from a Conservative Get together colleague on the assurances the UK authorities had given to India within the wake of coordinated expats protests in opposition to the BBC over the weekend.

“I lately had the chance to talk to the Indian Excessive Commissioner, Vikram Doraiswami, on this and numerous different points,” the overseas minister advised MPs.

“We recognise how this portrayal of the Indian authorities has performed out in India. I made it clear that the BBC is impartial in its output, that the UK regards India as an extremely vital worldwide companion and that we’ll be investing closely in that relationship within the coming many years,” he mentioned.

The minister was responding to a query by Tory MP Bob Blackman, chair of the All Get together Parliamentary Group (APPG) for British Hindus, who termed the documentary as “anti-India propaganda” and requested concerning the steps taken to “reassure our Commonwealth companion that this propaganda just isn’t the coverage of this authorities”.

Cleverly met Doraiswami throughout the India World Discussion board’s UK-India Parliamentary Lunch final week and addressed the gathering of parliamentarians and enterprise leaders on strengthening bilateral ties throughout all spheres.

“On commerce, we’re nicely into the negotiations of what has all of the hallmarks of being a real world customary bilateral commerce relationship, as a result of now we have this glorious bilateral relationship which I like to think about as distinctive,” he mentioned on the time.

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