Visva-Bharati students say they were stopped from screening BBC documentary on PM Modi

A student group claims to have been prevented from screening the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Visva-Bharati University (VBU) in Kolkata on the evening of February 23, Thursday. It was allegedly due to the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh elsewhere on the campus to attend a cultural function organised by the authorities.

A spokesperson of the Democratic Students Organisation (DSO), the student's wing of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), said that both the university authorities and the police prevented them from screening, India: The Modi Question, by not allowing a projector and a screen inside the campus. "We had initially thought about screening the film in January but later on decided to defer it," he said, as per a report by IANS.

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"After coming to know that Rajnath Singh, who is an important member of the Narendra Modi cabinet, would reach Visva-Bharati on Thursday, we decided to screen it in the evening," the student added. Police, on the other hand, said that there was no information about any screening on the campus and they took the required steps as per standard security protocols owing to the presence of the minister.

The Visva-Bharati spokesperson was not available for comment on the issue, as per IANS. However, it may be noted that student bodies in several other universities in West Bengal have already screened the documentary.

Minister Singh arrived at the campus on Thursday afternoon in a helicopter. He discussed the university's academic activities with Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty and later, watched a cultural programme performed by students. He is slated to attend the convocation ceremony of VBU today, February 24.