Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vipul Patel is all set to move a resolution in the Gujarat Assembly demanding “strict action” against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for running a “fabricated” documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Patel, an MLA from the Sojitra Assembly constituency in Anand district, is expected to move a “private member’s resolution” in the second sitting of the House on March 10.
Senior functionaries of the party shared that the resolution “requests the Government of India to take strict action against fabricated BBC documentary.” It states that “BBC seems to be working with a hidden agenda against the Government of India and the country.”
The resolution begins by stating that the BBC documentary on the 2002 Godhra train burning incident and the communal riots that followed, is an attempt to “blame” the state government.
It states that the Gujarat government had appointed a two-member Nanavati-Shah Commission (comprising Justices GT Nanavati and KG Shah), which “created history” by bringing the conduct of the then chief minister and his ministers within the purview of the Commission. The Commission after a detailed inquiry had concluded that the burning of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra on February 27, 2002, was a “pre-planned conspiracy” and the communal riots that followed were “spontaneous.”
The resolution reads that the Commission’s report tabled in the Gujarat Assembly had stated that it had got no proof that the state government or any religious or political organisation played a role in the communal riots. It adds that even the Supreme Court firmly denied any involvement or inaction (in the riots) of the state government.
The documentary comes 20 years after the incident, notes the resolution, adding that it is nothing but an “agenda” against PM Modi whose prestige and leadership are appreciated internationally. The two-part BBC documentary has been banned by the Government of India.
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