Thiruvananthapuram: Indian National Congress Kerala wing, the lead party in the state's Opposition alliance, United Democratic Front (UDF) has said that it will make a public screening of the first part of the much-debated BBC documentary 'India: the Modi Question' which speaks about the role of prime minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The Central Government has already asked the social media platforms including YouTube and Twitter to take the video off and invoked provisions of the IT Act 2021 to block its airing by others.
The Congress has also chosen the Republic Day, Thursday 26 Jan, for the screening and declared that it will do this in all district headquarters. The party's youth wing, the Youth Wing has also declared its intention to show the docu in public.
In parallel, the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has come out with a statement that it will offer protection for the screening in the background of the CPIM's affiliates the DYFI and students group SFI having decided to show the documentary in different campuses.
The announced schedules of the SFI show are the Kannur University campus in Mangattuparamb at 2 pm on Tuesday and in Kalady University at 6 pm on Tuesday under the aegis of SFI.
DYFI on the other hand has declared it will show the documentary at Poojappura ground at 6 pm in the capital Thiruvananthapuram.
Also, MV Jayarajan, secretary of the CPIM's Kannur district has dared anyone who will stop them from screening the BBC documentary and reminded the Centre that with the help of media muzzling the truth of genocide which happened in Gujarat cannot be erased. He said if any arrest is made for this reason, he was ready for it, and in a lighter vein added that it is quite some time since has been to jail.
Meanwhile, the BJP's state president K Surendran has asked the state government not to allow the screening of the BBC docu in different parts of the state. He said that the production defamed the judiciary and democracy of India and allowing its screening would be tantamount to endangering the unity and integrity of the country. He demanded the chief minister's urgent intervention for stopping the move to show the documentary.
The youth wing of the BJP, Yuva Morcha has said that it will prevent the showing of the documentary and termed such move treasonous. Morcha's state president CR Praful Krishnan warned that if any untoward incidents ensue, the responsibility for that will lie with the state government.
The BBC is scheduled to release the second party of the documentary Tuesday afternoon.