- Searches at the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai continued for the second straight day.
- The BBC in an email to employees, urged all but its broadcast department to work from home.
- There has been no official response from the UK.
- The broadcasters condemned the Income Tax Department’s surveys at BBC offices.
- Opposition parties have accused the government of targeting BBC over the series “India: The Modi Question”.
Searches at the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai continued for the second straight day as Income Tax officials investigated UK’s national broadcaster, weeks after it aired a controversial documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the deadly Gujarat riots in 2002. BBC had been served notices in the past but had been “defiant and non-compliant”, sources claimed. Tax officials who started the “survey” on Tuesday morning will today focus on accounts and question the senior management of the BBC, sources said.
The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), in an email to employees, urged all but its broadcast department to work from home. “Employees can refrain from answering questions on personal income if asked so. They should answer other salary-related queries,” said the broadcaster, advising its staff to cooperate with the officials and “answer questions comprehensively”.
There has been no official response from the UK.
Tax authorities are investigating allegations of unauthorized tax benefits, tax evasion, “significant” diversion of profits and non-compliance of rules by BBC, said the sources. On Tuesday, visuals showed some employees arguing with the officials, accusing them of barging in without a warrant.
The Press Club of India (PCI) on Tuesday condemned the Income Tax Department’s surveys at BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai. In a statement, PCI said, “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 as hostile to it.”
“The Income Tax Authorities remain at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. Many staff have now left the building, but some have been asked to remain and are continuing to cooperate with the ongoing enquiries,” a BBC News Press Team tweeted. “We are supporting our staff during this time and continue to hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible. Our output and journalism continue as normal and we are committed to serving our audiences in India,” the post added.
Opposition parties have accused the government of targeting the BBC over a two-part series that was critical of PM Modi’s handling of riots that swept Gujarat in 2002, when he was Chief Minister of the state. The government has slammed the documentary as “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage”. The ruling BJP slammed the BBC for what it called “venomous, shallow and agenda-driven reporting”
The BBC series, “India: The Modi Question”, was taken down from public platforms last month. The Centre used emergency powers under IT Rules to block YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the documentary. Protesting what they called censorship, opposition leaders and students organised public screenings of the documentary, which led to many campus clashes.
Last week, the Supreme Court rejected a request for a complete ban on BBC in India over the documentary, calling the petition “entirely misconceived”.
SAGAR RATH
