The Income Tax department’s ‘survey’ at the Mumbai and Delhi offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) over the international media group’s alleged tax evasion has invited heavy criticism from activists and Opposition parties. The searches took place on the morning of Tuesday, February 14, weeks after the release of a BBC documentary that critically examines the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Calling the IT search a brazen act of vengeance, Indian National Congress (INC) president Mallikarjun Khrage wrote in a tweet, “Time and again, there has been an assault on freedom of press under Modi Govt. This is done with brazen & unapologetic vengeance to strangulate remotely critical voices. No democracy can survive if institutions are used to attack the Opposition & Media. People will resist this (sic).” In its official Twitter handle, the Congress also referred to the incident as an instance of “undeclared emergency”.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) also hit out at the Union government, with its general secretary Sitaram Yechury taking a swipe at the PM over the phrase “mother of democracy”, a term often used by Modi to highlight the country's democratic ethos. “First ban BBC documentaries. No JPC/enquiry into Adani exposures. Now IT raids on BBC offices! India: ‘Mother of democracy’?” he wrote in a tweet.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called the IT searches on BBC a matter of shame for the country in front of the international community. “The intention behind the raids at BBC’s Mumbai and Delhi offices are highly suspicious. The BJP government has been provoked by the BBC documentary on the Gujarat riots. It is against this backdrop that the Income Tax department has turned against the BBC. The International media has already raised the criticism that this is an attack on media freedom,” the CM said in a statement.
“Any wrong action towards media freedom is objectionable. Democratic society should view this with apprehension,” Pinarayi’s statement further read.
The Aam Aadmi Party alleged that the IT actions show that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached the “heights of dictatorship”. “First, imposed a ban on the BBC documentary. Now raids at their offices. Don't forget Modi ji, Hitler's dictatorship also came to an end. Your dictatorship will also end,” AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who is also the party's national spokesperson, said in a tweet in Hindi, reacting sharply to the survey. “Modi ji, you have reached the heights of dictatorship,” the AAP leader said.
In her reaction, TMC MP Mahua Moitra asked if the "raids" on the BBC offices would be followed by one on "Mr A" in an apparent dig at Adani Group chief Gautam Adani.
"Since agencies doing these Valentine Day 'Surveys' how about @IncomeTaxIndia, @SEBI_India & @dir_ed conduct one on govt's most valued sweetheart Mr. A?" she asked in a tweet tagging SEBI and the Enforcement Directorate.
The Editors Guild of India said it was "deeply concerned" about the Income Tax surveys at the offices of BBC India and termed it as a continuation of a "trend" of using government agencies to "intimidate and harass" media outlets critical of the ruling establishment.
Journalist and activist Rana Ayyub tweeted, “The Modi government bans the BBC documentary and now income tax teams at the BBC Delhi office. At least have the decency to remove the ‘mother of democracy’ slogan from the billboards for the G20 summit.”
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has meanwhile put up a staunch defence of the action and accused the British broadcaster of unleashing “venomous” propaganda against India. The party also said that the “timing of the action was not decided by any government or outside power” and the agency should be allowed to do its work.
The BBC, meanwhile, said it is “fully cooperating” with the Income Tax authorities who are at its offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and hoped that the situation will be resolved “as soon as possible”.
With PTI inputs