Hitting out at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) over its documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a group of over 300 former judges, ex-bureaucrats and veterans on Saturday said this documentary is not a “neutral critique”.

A statement signed by 13 former judges, 133 ex-bureaucrats, including diplomats, and 156 veterans said, “Regardless of whom you, as an individual Indian, might have voted for, the Prime Minister of India is the Prime Minister of your country, our country. We cannot allow just about anyone to run amok with their deliberate bias, their vacuous reasoning…. “Their statement alleged that the BBC series reeks of motivated distortion that is “as mind-numbingly unsubstantiated as it is nefarious.”

Former Rajasthan High Court chief justice Anil Deo Singh, former home secretary L C Goyal, former foreign secretary Shashank, former RAW chief Sanjeev Tripathi and former NIA director Yogesh Chander Modi are among those who have signed the statement.

“This documentary is not a neutral critique and is not about exercising creative freedom or a divergent, anti-establishment point of view,” the statement said.

Earlier, the Centre issued directions for blocking multiple YouTube videos which published the first episode of the BBC Documentary “India: The Modi Question”, informed sources said.

As per the sources, orders were also issued to Twitter for blocking of over 50 tweets containing the links of the concerned YouTube videos.

The directions were reportedly issued by Secretary, Information and Broadcasting on Friday using the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021. Both YouTube and Twitter have complied with the directions, the sources said.

Reliable sources have confirmed that senior officials of multiple Ministries, including MEA, MHA and MIB, examined the documentary and found it to be an attempt to cast aspersions on the authority and credibility of the Supreme Court of India, sow divisions among various Indian communities, and make unsubstantiated allegations regarding actions of foreign Governments in India. The documentary was accordingly found to be undermining sovereignty and integrity of India, and having the potential to adversely impact India’s friendly relations with foreign States as also public order within the country.

The documentary produced by British Broadcasting Corporation, UK’s Public Broadcaster, has been earlier called by the External Affairs Ministry as a “propaganda piece” that lacks objectivity and reflects colonial mindset.

The UK’s national broadcaster aired a two-part series attacking PM Narendra Modi’s tenure as Gujarat chief minister during the Gujarat riots of 2002.

The documentary sparked outrage and was removed from select platforms.

Rejecting the controversial British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India on Thursday termed it “a biased propaganda piece” saying it can’t dignify such a film.

Addressing a weekly media briefing, External Affairs Ministry (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said this documentary show, based on some internal UK report, reflects the colonial mindset.

“The documentary is a reflection on the agency that has made it. We think it is a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative. The bias, lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset are blatantly visible. Can’t dignify such a film,” the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said in response to the question on the PM documentary series.