Interesting that BBC suspended star anchor...: Anurag Thakur's jibe on documentary row
Union minister Anurag Thakur said it's interesting that BBC makes lofty claims about journalistic independence but then suspends star anchor for criticising the government's migration policy.
Union minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday commented on the controversy over the suspension of BBC's Gary Lineker in a row over impartiality and said it is interesting to see how the BBC which makes "lofty claims about journalistic objectivity and independence" suspend their star anchor over his social media activity. The comment comes as BBC faced the wrath of the government after it released a two-part documentary on Gujarat riots criticising Narendra Modi, the then chief minister of Gujarat.
Gary Lineker, former England soccer captain and BBC's highest-paid presenter and the anchor of 'Match of the Day', a football highlight programme, was taken off the air on Friday after he criticised the government's migration policy.
"In yet another interesting exhibit, BBC suspends airing of a documentary it shot over fears that it would anger a section of society," the minister tweeted citing a Guardian report that BBC will not broadcast an episode of Sir David Attenborough's new series on British wildlife fearing Tory backlash.
"Fake narrative setting & ethical journalism are inherently contradictory. Those indulging in malicious propaganda forged in concocted facts can obviously never be expected to have the moral fiber or the courage to stand up for journalistic independence," Anurag Thakur said.
Amid the documentary row in India, BBC came on the radar of the income tax department as the news broadcaster was accused of irregularities in tax payments.
BJP's Amit Malviya shared Anurag Thakur's tweet and said: "This is as much a BBC roast as it is of those who held up delinquent BBC as an epitome of objective journlism and shed copious tears in solidarity..."