PANAJI
The Goa legislative assembly on Friday passed a private member resolution moved by ruling BJP legislator Krishna (Daji) Salkar slamming the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for its documentary 'India: The Modi Question' but not before a heated and argumentative debate between the treasury and Opposition benches.
The resolution was stoutly objected to by the united Opposition, and Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao even opposed its very admissibility citing Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business which debars sub-judice matters.
Alemao also asked the Speaker to withdraw the resolution from the day's listed business as the video of the documentary being talked about is unavailable and banned in India.
How do we know what is in it. How can we talk on the subject matter," Alemao asked urging the Speaker to withdraw it.
However, Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar overruled the objection after Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, the BBC documentary matter was not sub-judice in any court.
The resolution urges the Centre to take strict action against BBC for the documentary for the ‘whimsical’ findings on the post-Godhra communal riots in Gujarat in 2002.
All the MLAs from the Opposition side comprising the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Goa Forward Party (GFP) and the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) vociferously opposed the resolution terming it anti-democratic and an assault on free speech and the media.
Salkar's resolution slammed the BBC and stated: “BBC is losing its credibility and it seems to be working with some hidden agenda against India and the Indian Government. Hence, this House requests the Central Government to take strict action against the whimsical findings shown in the BBC documentary.”
The Vasco legislator also stated in his two-page resolution that it (the documentary) is malicious attempt to blame the then State Government for the Godhra carnage in Gujarat and the consequent communal riots that took place in Gujarat in the year 2002.
“There has been a deliberate and malafide attempt to discredit the popularity of the then Chief Minister and the present Prime Minister of India through a recently released BBC documentary,” Salkar further said in the resolution.
Sawant said, the BBC documentary was an act of defaming the nation through falsehood against a democratically elected leader of India. He slammed the Opposition for not backing it and accused them of standing against the nation by backing the BBC.
Alvares Ferreira said he is opposing the resolution for reasons that it was argumentative and the issue sub-judice in the Supreme Court, for which the House rules do not permit admissibility.
He also hit out at the attempt to push the narrative that it is an assault on the nation.
"This is a false narrative," Alvares-Ferreira said, adding that it was much like the narrative pushed in Hitler's Germany.
"It reminds me of the time in Nazi Germany.... If you are not with Hitler, you are not with Germany. This is what is being repeated over here," Alvares-Ferreira said.
The Aldona MLA also read out a 2013 tweet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself which hailed the BBC as the broadcaster Indians relied for correct information when the credibility of DD (Doordarshan) was unreliable.
"I am opposing the resolution because it will be an assault on democracy, if it is passed," he said, adding that media brings up the facts and then people should decide on it.
"This resolution is dangerous and unconstitutional,” he said.
AAP's Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas said, India values media organisations and it is considered as the fourth pillar of democracy.
“When media organisations refuse to be their 'godhi media' and walk their talk, the Prime Minister sends the ED to raid the media houses. This is a dictatorship. No individual is greater than the nation. This resolution is anti-India. I oppose it,” Viegas said.
Viegas also recalled that if there is anyone who has defamed the Prime Minister for the 2002 post-Godhra riots it is the then Prime Minister Vajpayee-Ji who said 'Rajyadharma has not been followed' and 'India has been defamed'.
Goa Forward's Vijai Sardesai said the MLA should have resorted to filing a case in court instead of moving a resolution.
“This is sub-judice. Fake Broadcasting Corporation of BJP has prompted this resolution. Will you ban documentaries if it comes on the Manipur issue?” Sardesai asked.
Several ruling party MLAs including Digambar Kamat, Aleixo Sequeira, Michael Lobo among others spoke in favour of the resolution and some of them praised the leadership and popularity of Modi.
