'BBC waging an information war': Russia on controversial documentary on PM Modi 

Amid an ongoing row over a controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia on Monday slammed the UK's public broadcaster and said that it was waging an information war. It said the documentary was another evidence of BBC waging an information war against a country pursuing an independent policy.

"I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it is yet another evidence of BBC waging an information war on different fronts - not only against Russia but also against other global centers of power pursuing an independent policy," Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said as per news agency ANI.  

Zakharova further said that after a certain number of years, "it turns out that BBC is fighting even within the British establishment, being an instrument of the interests of some groups against others". "It should be treated accordingly," she said.

BBC recently came out with a two-part documentary on Prime Minister Modi. The documentary claims to have investigated the Gujarat riots and certain policies of the central government like CAA.

The Centre has blocked the controversial documentary in the country using the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) called the documentary "a propaganda piece" designed to push a particular discredited narrative. "The bias, the lack of objectivity, and a continuing colonial mindset are blatantly visible," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said during a weekly press briefing.

If anything, he said, this film or documentary was a reflection on the agency and individuals that were peddling this narrative again. "It makes us wonder about the purpose of this exercise and the agenda behind it and we do not wish to dignify such efforts," the spokesperson added.

Today, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a plea against the Centre's decision to ban the documentary. Advocate ML Sharma mentioned the matter for an early hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. Sharma has challenged the government's decision to ban the documentary, calling the ban "malafide, arbitrary, and unconstitutional".