UK conservative MP Bob Blackman has raised concerns over alleged “biased reporting” on the Ram temple by state broadcaster BBC.

Calling for a debate on the “impartiality” of the BBC, the MP said in the UK parliament on Friday that the media outlet had failed to provide a “decent record” of what is going on in the world.     

He said the Ram temple consecration had brought “great joy” to Hindus across the world, but “very sadly,” the BBC coverage included that the Babri Mosque was demolished on the site of the temple.   

Blackman also claimed that the structure on the site was a “temple for more than 2,000 years”.  

He said, “Very sadly, the BBC, in their coverage reported, of course, 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.”

The MP further asked the parliament to “allow time for a debate in government time on the impartiality of the BBC and its failure to provide a decent record of what is actually going on all over the world.”

On Twitter, Blackman said his constituents had raised concerns over “BBC’s biased reporting” on the Ram temple. He said as an “avid supporter of the rights of Hindus, this article has caused great disharmony”.  

While the Ram temple consecration was widely celebrated by Hindus across the world, the mention of Babri Masjid and its demolition was almost conspicuous by absence. The Mughal-era mosque in Ayodhya was demolished by right-wing activists in 1992, following a mobilisation campaign led by the BJP. 

While most of the mainstream media outlets in India remained oblivious to this in their coverage of the Ram temple, the international media reports prominently featured references to the mosque, in headlines as well as in the copies. What did they say? Read here.

Newslaundry has reported at length on the Ram temple, its impact on the locals, and the controversies surrounding it – from right-wing leader’s dismay to the seers not participating in the consecration, and the big land deals signed by the temple trust – under the NL Sena project The New Ayodhya. Read all about it here. 

This report was published with AI assistance.