BBC , India and the tax survey. How the world is viewing it all.
This morning on #ValentinesDay Income tax officers in India carried out a raid (sorry, Survey) on the offices of @BBCIndia.
This morning on #ValentinesDay Income tax officers in India carried out a raid (sorry, Survey) on the offices of @BBCIndia.
The BBC of course reported it as just another story, and made the obvious link between this latest run in with the Indian Govt and their niow (in) famous documentary "India - the Modi Question".
They stated that the BBC was "fully co-operating" with [the] authorities, and hoped "to have this situation resolved as soon as possible," But they also took the obvious opportunity to explain the background.
"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", they said. "The documentary focused on the prime minister's role in anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002, when he was CM"
The Washington Post called a spade a spade by dispensing with "Income tax Officers" in their headline and substututing it with "Indian Government".
They quoted Gaurav Bhatia BJP spokesman who "told reporters in a conference that the BBC 'must work within India laws' and called the organization “corrupt” without offering specifics, instead listing a litany of perceived problems with its coverage."
"“The BBC’s work has historically been tainted with its hatred for India,” he said. “Our constitution allows them to do unbiased journalism, but [they]use journalism as a pretext to put forward their agenda.” media outlets that “have a hidden agenda” and “spew venom”.
@guardian's @HannahEP wrote, "Modi has been haunted for years by allegations of his complicity in the violence, and they led to him being banned from the US for almost a decade."
She quoted Opposition spokesman Gaurav Gogoi, who in a tweet said, “At the time India holds the presidency of the G20 nations, PM Modi continues to brazenly show India’s slide into authoritarianism and dictatorship,”
@HannahEP also reminded readers, "The raids come amidst an increasingly pressured environment for independent media since Modi came to power in 2014. "
"Journalists and news organisations that have published work critical of the BJP government have been hit with harassment, raids, criminal cases and tax investigations and the country has dropped down to 150 out 180 in the World Press Freedom Index."
"The BBC is just the latest organisation to be hit with a tax evasion investigation following critical reporting on the Modi government."
" The Indian operations of Amnesty International, which had produced several reports on the erosion of human rights and freedom of speech in India, had to be shuttered in 2020 after their accounts were frozen by a central government agency."
She may not know but even a small indepndent subscription only news portal like @Newslaundry was visited by the surveyors of the IT department. newslaundry.com/2021/09/11/new…
And now Time Magazine calls out the real motive behind the so-called tax survey of @BBCIndia offices. The #G20Presidency is taking a battering on the world stage. All the sacrifice of he country's reputation is to avenge one man who fears honest and critical appraisa.
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