Disney-owned Hotstar has not uploaded the latest episode of John Oliver’s popular talk show Last Week Tonight in which the comedian has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government over the Citizenship Amendment Act and his handling of the protests against it.
The latest episode, Modi: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, was expected to be available to Hotstar subscribers from 6am on Tuesday. But subscribers who logged in found only last week’s episode.
Disney and Hotstar did not respond to requests for comment, while an information and broadcasting ministry official said the government had “nothing to do with the matter”.
An 18-minute clip of the 30-minute episode was uploaded on the show’s official YouTube channel on Tuesday and has since been watched by more than five million people. Oliver decided to focus the episode on India because of US President Donald Trump’s trip to the country. The 36-hour visit coincided with clashes over the CAA in northeast Delhi.
Oliver was praised by many, including activist Prashant Bhushan and comedian Vir Das, for his stinging criticism of the CAA.