- >>
- INDIA
The Income Tax survey/ raid at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) offices in New Delhi and Mumbai had continued a second straight day on Wednesday, February 14. According to multiple news reports, the BBC staff were questioned “about the organisation’s business operations in the country” during the raid. The BBC in a short statement said it was "fully co-operating" with the authorities, adding that they hope “to have this situation resolved as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, its offices being raided were ‘guarded’ by local police.
According to NDTV, “computers of editorial staff & journalists” were searched and “Words like Tax, Black Money & Benami searched on these machines. Phone data of Sr BBC India staff cloned.” The report stated that “some disturbing” points had emerged.
A video clip shared on social media purportedly showed a verbal spat between an official and a BBC staffer in the boradcasters office.
According to news reports with many of their devices ‘searched’ the BBC staff has not been making any comments on the raids to the media fraternity. Their website and social media pages continued to publish news reports. Their report on the IT raid in their offices was detailed and stated that “The searches in New Delhi and Mumbai come weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary in the UK critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
It added that “though the documentary was broadcast on television only in the UK, India's government has attempted to block people sharing India: The Modi Question online, calling it "hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage" with a "colonial mind-set".”
Another news report stated that the “BBC management told editorial and other staff members to work from home after they were able to leave the office on Tuesday night.”
While the Congress, C.P.I, T.M.C. and other Opposition leaders condemned the raids likening it to an undeclared Emergency, Bharatiya Janata Party politicians put the blame on B.B.C, even as the raids continued. According to a B.J.P National Spokesperson Sanju Verma the IT raud “was for violating Transfer Pricing norms, under Sec 92A&92F of Income Tax Act,1961” and this happens “if there are repeated violations”. She asked in her social media post “Why did BBC not respond to notice under Sec 142(1)?”
Her party colleague and fellow spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia told NDTV that the B.B.C, was a “Bhrasht Bhakwaas Corporation (Corrupt, Rubbish, corporation).” He called the I.T raid lawful adding that “the timing had nothing to do with the government,” stated the news report.
The I.T raid on the B.B.C grabbed international headlines since it was launched on February 14, perhaps even nudging the Hindenberg-Adani controversy into number 2 news spot. The raids have also been the top trend on social media with the hastags “#BBCSurvey, #BBCOffice, #BBCDocumentary trending on the top spot”.
The timing of the raid weeks after the British broadcaster aired a documentary titled India: The Modi Question, which investigated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat violence has been highlighted by most of the International media. Reports have been published in scores of International news websites and have gone viral on many social media groups. According to a report in The Guardian, “dozens of employees were held in their offices for hours by officials from the income tax department on Tuesday”.
Scores of media organisations in India have also risen in solidarity against such actions against journalists. In a statement Press Club of India strongly condemned the IT "surveys" on the B.B.C. It stated that the "surveys" are part of a series of attacks on the media by government agencies in recent times, especially against those sections of the media that the government perceives is hostile to it and critical of the ruling establishment.
It is deeply unfortunate as this latest instance appears to be a clear cut case of vendetta, coming within weeks of a documentary aired by the BBC on the Gujarat riots.”
It added concerns that such action “will damage the reputation and image of India as the largest democracy in the world” and appealed that the Government “restrain its agencies from misusing their powers in order to intimidate the media and put curbs on the freedom of the Press.”
The Editors Guild of India (E.G.I) also put on record its concern highlighting the timing as the by teams from the IT department began its “survey” on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.
“This comes soon after the release of two documentaries by the BBC, on the 2002 violence in Gujarat and the current status of the minorities in India .The documentaries stirred political waters with the government criticising the BBC for wrong and prejudiced reportage on the Gujarat violence, and attempted to ban online access and viewing of the films in India.
“The surveys by the IT department is in continuation of a trend of using government agencies to intimidate and harass press organisations that are critical of government policies or the ruling establishment.”
It recalled how this has been the trend as “in September 2021, offices of NewsClick and Newslaundry were similarly “surveyed” by IT department. In June 2021, there were surveys against Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Samachar. In February 2021, the ED had conducted raids at the office of NewsClick. In each case, the raids and surveys were against the backdrop of critical coverage of the government establishment by the news organisations.”
The E.G.I stated that this trend “undermines constitutional democracy” and demanded that “great care and sensitivity be shown in all such investigations so as to not undermine the rights of journalists and media organisations. Further, the Guild reiterates its earlier demand that governments ensure that such investigations are conducted within the prescribed rules and that they don’t degenerate into instruments of harassment to intimidate independent media.”
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (C.P.J) the Indian authorities must “stop harassing journalists”. Beh Lih Yi, C.P.J’s Asia program coordinator stated that the raid/survey “smacks of intimidation.” Yi added that “Indian authorities have used tax investigations as a pretext to target critical news outlets before, and must cease harassing BBC employees immediately, in line with the values of freedom that should be espoused in the world’s largest democracy.”
The National Alliance of Journalists (NAJ)and the Delhi Union of Journalists(DUJ) joined the Editors’ Guild of India in expressing concern at the ‘searches’ /’surveys’, conducted by the I.T. department. It termed them “dangerous and ominous for democracy and
smacks of even darker portents”, adding that it was a sign that “a new era of undeclared press censorship and curbs on independent journalism is spreading to curb all forms of independent thinking aimed to numb all forms of dissent”.
The statement noted that “the proposal to amend IT rules 2021, to tighten the screws on
internet censorship, came only soon after the Information and Broadcasting ministry blocked any access to the BBC documents.” The organisaitons repeated their “opposition to both increasing police powers of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) and interlinked attempts to coax, cajole or browbeat all forms of media into subjugation to suit government machinations and policies.”
The Indian Journalists Union (I.J.U) also condemned these raids and issued a statement signed by its President and former Member of Press Council of India Geetartha Pathak and Secretary General and International Federation of Journalists’ Vice President Sabina Inderjit that “rubbished” the B.J.P spokesperson’s claims that the raids did not have everything to do with the government. “Such actions said the Union put a big question mark on the government’s commitment to press freedom as the world’s largest democracy” stated the Union demanding that “the government refrain from such vindictive actions and let the media do its work, if it had nothing to hide.”
According to Amnesty International India’s Board, Chairman Aakar Patel, “These raids are a blatant affront to freedom of expression. The Indian authorities are clearly trying to harass and intimidate the BBC over its critical coverage of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
“The overbroad powers of the Income Tax Department are repeatedly being weaponized to silence dissent. Last year, tax officials also raided the offices of a number of NGOs, including Oxfam India. These intimidatory acts, which undermine the right to freedom of expression in India, must end now.”
Even the U.S’ State dept has even commented that they were “aware of the search of the BBC Offices in Delhi by Indian tax authorities” adding that “We support the importance of free press around the world.
Cover Photograph Reuters
