Washington DC, January 26, 2023 (PPI-OT):The US continues to highlight the importance of democratic principles, such as freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, as human rights and it supports “importance of a free press around the world.” US state department spokesperson Ned Price stated this while responding to a query here about Narendra Modi government in India banning a BBC documentary on the prime minister’s role in the Gujarat riots during his tenure as chief minister of the state. At a regular media briefing at Washington, a reporter asked the US state department spokesperson Ned Price as to whether the US considers the blocking of the BBC documentary in India a matter of press freedom. Price said, “I’ll say generally, when it comes to this, we support the importance of a free press around the world.”

Price then continued: “We continue to highlight the importance of democratic principles, such as freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, as human rights that contribute to the strengthening of our democracies. This is a point we make in our relationships around the world. It’s certainly a point we’ve made in India as well.” The Modi government on January 21 had asked both YouTube and Twitter to remove links posting the BBC documentary about the 2002 Gujarat communal violence. The two platforms reportedly agreed to take this action.

The documentary, ‘India: The Modi Question,’ looks at “the tensions between Prime Minister Modi and the country’s Muslim minority”, as well as “investigating claims” concerning his role in the violence. The documentary unveils a UK government inquiry report which says that “Narendra Modi is directly responsible”.

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