New Delhi: Over 300 retired bureaucrats, judges and diplomats have urged the countrymen to join their ‘Satyagrah’ against the BBC for its alleged brazen and biased propaganda against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the form of a documentary titled ‘The Modi Question’ based on the riots of 2022 in Gujarat.

Terming the BBC documentary, a result of delusional and evidently lopsided reporting, they have asked the people of the country in an open letter to sign the petition and unite to fight against the BBC, calling it a true form of ‘Satyagraha.’

In the letter they have claimed that the documentary questions the very basis of 75-year-old edifice of India’s existence as an Independent, democratic nation and is a visibly motivated chargesheet against our leader, a fellow Indian and a patriot.

They said that they have examined the BBC documentary closely and found it to be an attempt to ‘divide and rule’ by questioning the authority and credibility of the Supreme Court and sowing seeds of divisions among communities in India. People with direct knowledge of the matter said that the documentary puts unsubstantiated allegations on actions of foreign governments in India.

The BBC has come up with the documentary when Prime Minister Modi has already been given a clean chit by the highest court of India - the Supreme Court. The matter has been heard at all levels of Indian judiciary.

The letter says that BBC naturally thrives on sensationalism regardless of how false its basis, setting itself up to second guess and dismiss the verdict of the apex of the Indian judiciary, the Supreme Court.

Emphasizing on Prime Minister Modi’s active engagement with every citizen, the letter says that Prime Minister Modi’s efforts in all sectors, including housing, health and education, are only worthy of approbation and emulation.

When a Pakistan-origin MP raised the matter of the documentary in the British parliament, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said: “The UK government’s position on this has been clear and long-standing and hasn’t changed. Of course, we don’t tolerate persecution where it appears anywhere but I am not sure I agree at all with the characterization that the honorable gentleman has put forward.” /BI/