The controversy over the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots has now reached Delhi university as the Bhim Army Student Federation, a student outfit, has given a call for holding its screening at 5pm on the North Campus. The Bhim Army Student Federation is planning to screen 'India: The Modi Question' outside the arts faculty on the North Campus of the University of Delhi (DU), news agency PTI reported.
Meanwhile, the Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India (NSUI) has also announced to hold the screening at 4pm on North Campus and the Students' Federation of India (SFI) at 1pm on the Ambedkar University Kashmere Gate campus.
The DU administration on Friday, however, said it will not allow the BBC documentary. The university's proctor Rajni Abbi said the administration's permission had not been sought.
"We have written to Delhi Police regarding this. They will take action. Proper police deployment would be done. We cannot allow such a screening," PTI quoted Abbi as saying.
"We have received information that NSUI is planning to screen this documentary at the Arts faculty... No permission has been sought for it. We will not allow such behaviour," she said, adding that the film had been banned by the government.
Last week, the Centre had recently directed social media platforms to block links to the documentary with the external affairs ministry trashing it as a "propaganda piece" that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.
{{/usCountry}}Last week, the Centre had recently directed social media platforms to block links to the documentary with the external affairs ministry trashing it as a "propaganda piece" that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset.
{{/usCountry}}In Tamil Nadu, reports indicate that students have planned the screening of the documentary at Madras University at 3pm on Friday. However, they have been denied permission. On Thursday, Chennai Corporation councillor A Priyadarshini was detained on Thursday after she watched the documentary on her smartphone. A total of 20 people, including the councillor, were taken into custody.
On Wednesday, the Jamia Millia Islamia became the centre of a kerfuffle after SFI's plans to organise the screening of the documentary were thwarted by the varsity and the police. The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) witnessed a ruckus and protests over the screening of the same on Tuesday.
The documentary was screened by the SFI at Kolkata's Jadavpur University on Thursday evening. The screening was reportedly held without any interference from the police or the administration.
All India Students’ Association (AISA), another Left body, also decided to screen the documentary on the campus of Jadavpur University on Friday, said Sandip Nayak, a senior member of the organisation, PTI earlier reported.
In Hyderabad, the SFI on Thursday organised the screening at the University of Hyderabad even as the RSS's student wing ABVP showed another controversial film 'The Kashmir Files', on the campus, PTI reported. The Fraternity Movement on UoH campus, a students' group, had earlier organised the screening of the BBC documentary on January 21 at the varsity campus without prior notice or permission, prompting the university authorities to seek a report on the incident for taking necessary action.