Narendra Modi interview not altered: Centre

New Delhi: Doordarshan insisted that there was no interference by any authority or any “deliberate omission” in Narendra Modi’s interview to the national broadcaster.

The government also denied any hand in the alleged omission of the part of the interview in which Mr Modi is believed to have said that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was like his daughter, arguing that Prasar Bharati, which runs Doordarshan, is autonomous.

“Prasar Bharati is an independent body... Somewhere pressure has been exerted and the interview has been censored and cut... It is a shame, when at one point of time the Congress speaks about freedom of speech, there is still space for censor and the Congress is misusing this power,” BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said, adding: “Either Prasar Bharati or the information and broadcasting ministry should answer.”

Doordarshan, meanwhile, said in a statement, “There was no deliberate editing or omission of any portion of the interview. Wherever editing was done, it was for technical reasons and during post-production. There was no interference or control from any authority in the entire process.”

Information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari said that his ministry does not interfere in Doordarshan’s news agenda as it has an “arm’s length relationship with Prasar Bharati”.

BJP also hit back at finance minister P. Chidambaram for saying he was not sure if Ms Vadra would accept Mr Modi as a “father figure”, saying that he belongs to a party whose DNA does not allow appreciation of a gesture coming out of Indian culture.” It is part of Indian culture to speak of somebody who is of a daughter’s age to say she is like my daughter. It requires good grounding and belief in Indian culture to say that and to receive and appreciate it...,” Ms Sitharaman said.