In a despicable act, a caller hurled the choicest of expletives at the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his 99-year-old mother Hiraben during a radio programme conducted by BBC Asian Network.
The programme, hosted by anchor Priya Rai on BBC Sounds, was aired on Monday (March 1). During an episode of the British soap opera ‘Eastenders’, the ‘Sikh turban’ was referred to as a ‘crown’. BBC conducted a 3-hour long show on whether the Sikh community in the United Kingdom felt proud of such a reference. The host took several phone calls from the viewers, who expressed the struggle of the Sikhs in the country.
A notorious caller, by the name of Simon, joined the programme and abused PM Modi and his aged mother. On being asked a question by the BBC host, the man interjected, “Modi di maa di p*udi vich latt (will put a leg in Modi’s mother’s vagina).” The perplexed host then tried to do damage control and said, “Okay hang on, take a second here. Simon, thank you very much for calling…”The matter came to light when British Indians Voice put out a tweet condemning the remarks.
This offensive statement on @bbcasiannetwork literally translates to “put a leg in Modis Mothers Vagina”. This is a common Punjabi offensive slur that is used to degrade women with the sole purpose to offend.#BritishIndians recommend @Ofcom to review the broadcasters licence. pic.twitter.com/fo8ScrGqzP
— British Indians Voice 🇬🇧🇮🇳 (@BritIndianVoice) March 2, 2021
In a tweet, British Indians Voice said, “This offensive statement on BCC Asian Network literally translates to “put a leg in Modis Mothers Vagina”. This is a common Punjabi offensive slur that is used to degrade women with the sole purpose to offend.” It also called upon communication regulator Ofcom to review the broadcasting licence of BBC Asian Network.
BBC removes contentious content
The BCC network then edited the programme and removed the derogatory remarks. In a statement, it said, “This programme has been edited since the broadcast.” At 1 hour 32 minutes in the programme, the host Piya Rai issued a weak apology, “Before we carry on though, we would like to apologise for some of the offensive language used by the guest on the show earlier. It’s a live show and we discuss controversial issues often. There was no reason for the type of language that was used and I would like to say sorry again for any offence that was caused.”
