Supreme Court being used as tool by anti-India forces, alleges RSS-linked magazine

The Supreme Court is being used as a tool by anti-India forces, a magazine associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh alleged in an article published on Wednesday.

“After efforts to save terrorists in the name of human rights, creating hurdles in India’s growth in the name of the environment, now it is being tried that forces against the country should have the right to do propaganda against India itself,” the RSS-affiliated magazine Panchjanya said in its editorial.

The criticism was made in relation to the Supreme Court’s notice to the Centre, asking the government to produce original records of the order to block a BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

In recent months, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government and the judiciary have also been engaged in a standoff over judicial appointments in the country. The RSS is the parent organisation and the ideological backbone to a host of Hindutva bodies including the BJP.

In its editorial, the RSS-affiliated magazine also said that the Supreme Court runs on taxpayers’ money and its function is to work in accordance with the Constitution and for the benefit of India.

“The Supreme Court was created for safeguarding the interests of our country but it is being used as a tool by the opponents of India in their efforts to clear their way,” the editorial said. “All anti-national forces take advantage of the provisions of our democracy, our generosity, and our civilisational standards.”

In its editorial, the magazine also termed the BBC documentary as propaganda to defame India, and added that it is “based on fiction”.

The BBC documentary

The BBC documentary, India: The Modi Question, alleges that a team sent by the British government had found that Modi, who was the chief minister of Gujarat when the 2002 riots took place, was “directly responsible for a climate of impunity” that led to the violence against Muslims.

It also reveals for the first time that a report commissioned by the United Kingdom government had stated that the riots had “all the hallmarks of an ethnic cleansing”.

The Indian government, however, dismissed it as “a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative”. It also blocked videos and tweets sharing links to the documentary using emergency powers available under the Information Technology Rules, 2021.

The BBC has defended the documentary, saying that it was “rigorously researched according to the highest editorial standards”.

On Tuesday, Income Tax Department officials conducted a “survey operation” at the Mumbai and Delhi offices of the British broadcaster. Tax officials said that the operation was being carried out as part of a tax evasion investigation. On Thursday, the ‘survey operation’ entered its third day.