Edited by Deepali Verma
The coverage by BBC of the Ram Mandir’s consecration ceremony in Ayodhya held on January 22 came under question in the British Parliament after a member termed it “biased” and asked BBC to provide “a decent record of what is going on across the world”.
During his address in the UK Parliament, Bob Blackman said the BBC once reported that this was the site of the destruction of a mosque, forgetting the fact that it had been a temple for more than 2,000 years.
“Last week in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya, the Ram Mandir was consecrated, which was of great joy to Hindus across the world as being Lord Ram’s birthplace,” Blackman said.
“The BBC, in a rather sad coverage reported that this was the site of the destruction of a mosque, forgetting the fact that it had been a temple for more than 2,000 years before that happened and that the Muslims had been allocated a five-acre site on which to erect a mosque adjacent to the town,” he added.
Additionally, the MP asked other parliament members to permit time “for a debate in government time on the impartiality of the BBC and its failure to give an account of what is actually going on all over the world.”
The Parliamentarian later took to X and said that the constituents have raised concerns regarding the BBC’s biased reporting of the Ram Mandir.
He said being an avid supporter of the rights of Hindus, “this article has caused great disharmony.”
“The BBC should provide a decent record of what is going on across the world,” he said.
This mega temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, had its consecration on January 22 in a grand event attended by close to thousands of delegates, including foreigners.
Schools in several states announced a holiday while government offices and other establishments as well as public sector banks remained closed for half a day on the consecration day. Some states even declared a ‘dry day’ and asked shops selling non-vegetarian food items to remain closed until evening.
Post the consecration ceremony, performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the devotees burst firecrackers across the state in celebration of the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
The next day, the Ram Mandir doors were thrown open to the general public. In the first 11 days, around 25 lakh devotees had made a visit to the temple.
