Students group screens BBC documentary on PM Modi at University of Hyderabad

A section of students at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) screened the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on its campus, prompting the university authorities to seek a report.

The documentary was screened on Sunday, January 22 by a group of students under the banner Fraternity Movement- HCU unit, on the campus of the UoH, also known as Hyderabad Central University (HCU), as per a report by PTI.

However, no permission was sought by the students' group from the authorities before screening the documentary and they found out about it only after the members of ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) complained to the varsity's registrar in this regard, official sources at UoH said on Tuesday, January 24.

The university has asked for a report from its security wing over the matter, they said. A police official said they have so far not received any complaint over the matter. The Centre had issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the controversial BBC documentary India: The Modi Question.

Screening in Kerala as well

Meanwhile, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala, today, Tuesday, January 24, announced on its Facebook page that the controversial BBC documentary India: The Modi Question would be screened in the state.

On the other hand, a fresh row erupted at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) as a poster was purportedly released by its students' union announcing the screening of the aforementioned documentary at its office today, prompting university authorities to issue a warning to cancel the event or face "strict disciplinary action".

The two-part BBC documentary, which claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state, has been trashed by the Ministry of External Affairs as a "propaganda piece" that lacked objectivity and reflected a "colonial mindset", as per the PTI report.