I&B Minister Anurag Thakur Questions BBC Over Selective Censorship

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports questioned the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) over the issue of Gary Lineker and selective censorship.

In a series of tweets, Thakur questioned the BBC for suspending their anchor for his social media remarks. Former English football legend, Lineker was suspended from the BBC for breaching impartiality guidelines over his criticism of the U.K. government's asylum policies.

Lineker was BBC's highest-paid presenter and had hosted the channel's flagship football show, Match of the Day, since 1999.

The BBC, in its statement, said that it considered Lineker's "recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines". It added he should "keep well away from taking sides on party political issues or political controversies".

Expressing solidarity with Lineker, Ian Wright and Alan Shearer, the co-presenters of the football show, announced that they would not be turning up to present Saturday's edition. However, the BBC went ahead with the Premier League highlights programme without any hosts or studio analysis.

Lineker stoked a controversy after he responded to a video message by the home secretary, Suella Braverman, outlining the ruling government's plans to ban people arriving in the U.K. illegally from ever claiming asylum.

Lineker termed it an "immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s".

Thakur also questioned the BBC for censoring a documentary. As per reports earlier today, BBC decided not to broadcast an episode of Sir David Attenborough’s new series on British wildlife, fearing that it would invite a backlash from the rightwing leaders and press.

Earlier this week, Thakur lashed out against the New York Times, stating that their opinion piece on the freedom of press in Kashmir was fictious and published with an objective to drive an agenda against India.

Thakur, in his series of tweets, added that a few foreign media groups, nourishing a grudge, were running a propaganda against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.