NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati chief executive Shashi Shekhar Vempati is learnt to have declined an offer to attend an event hosted by BBC because of its “one-sided” reportage of the communal violence in Delhi.

The event, to mark International Women’s Day, has been organised to felicitate Indian sportswomen and is the first such award ceremony hosted by the British broadcaster. While Vempati could not be reached for comment, TOI has learnt that he has communicated his decision to not attend the ceremony in writing and said the BBC’s ground reports were “damningly silent” on “murderous and targeted” assaults on the men in uniform.

The BBC’s reports of Delhi Police’s alleged complicity in the violence against Muslims is what appears to have irked the Indian pubcaster. The Prasar Bharati CEO is learnt to have said that such reports, instead of calming prevailing tensions, had only vitiated the atmosphere further. He also asked the British broadcaster to “respect the sovereignty of nations” and urged it to work together with the Indian broadcaster in greater public interest.

When TOI contacted BBC for comment on Vempati declining the invite, a BBC Spokesperson said, “We were sorry to hear Mr Vempati won’t be coming to the awards ceremony on Sunday as it will be a brilliant chance to showcase the achievements of some talented sportswomen. The BBC is committed to fair and impartial coverage, without fear or favour, and we stand by our journalism in respect of our reporting of recent events in India.”

With 47 deaths and over 300 persons grievously injured, the Delhi riots have rocked the country and disrupted proceedings of Parliament since it resumed on March 2. While opposition parties have blamed ministers and members of the BJP government for fuelling the riots, the government has maintained it has closely reviewed the situation and urged people not to believe in rumours or fall prey to “evil designs of miscreants and groups interested in precipitating communal tension.”

