KOLKATA: Members of the CPM’s students’ wing, the Students Federation of India (SFI), on Friday claimed that the controversial BBC documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ was successfully screened at Kolkata’s Presidency University.
However, the Left-backed students’ body said there was a sudden power cut during the screening, which they claimed was an attempt by the university authorities to stop the broadcast of the two-part documentary series, which is an alleged critique of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his time as Gujarat Chief Minister.
The SFI members said they staged a protest on campus during the power outage, which they alleged was an attempt by the university authorities to stop the screening of the documentary series. “We protested on campus against the (varsity) authorities as they intentionally disrupted the screening”, Anandarupa Dhar, an SFI member, said. “We made all necessary arrangements for the screening. We urged all students to join us in large numbers at the common room for the screening,” she added.
She, however, informed that power was restored after half-an-hour and the screening resumed. “The first part of the two-part documentary series was screened today (Friday). The second part will be screened in the coming days”, she added.
Earlier in the day, Delhi police detained about 20 people from outside the Faculty of Arts at the University of Delhi in the wake of a call by NSUI-KSU to screen the controversial BBC documentary series. Prohibitory orders were imposed outside the Faculty of Arts under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Earlier, this month, the government denounced the BBC series, calling it a “propaganda piece designed to push a discredited narrative”. The government also pulled down the series from various social media platforms, including Twitter and Youtube.
Chaos erupted on JNU campus after JNUSU members alleged a ‘deliberate’ power outage during a screening of BBC series. On Wednesday, 13 students were detained for creating a ruckus outside the Jamia Millia Islamia University over the screening of the BBC series.
The Delhi Police issued a statement on the incident, saying that the university administration did not allow the screening of the documentary on campus. (ANI)