I-T 'survey' at BBC offices 'smacks of intimidation', 'affront to freedom of expression': Global watchdogs

Global media watchdogs and human rights bodies on Tuesday criticised the Indian governments income tax survey operations at the BBCs offices in New Delhi and Mumbai saying the action smacks of intimidation and was a blatant affront to freedom of expressionThe Income Tax officials described the action as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasionReacting to the Indian IT departments action the UKbased British public broadcaster said that it was fully cooperating with the authorities and hoped that the situation will be resolved as soon as possibleThe New Yorkbased independent nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists CPJ urged the Indian government to stop harassing journalists Its Asia programme coordinator Beh Lih Yi said Raiding the BBCs India offices in the wake of a documentary criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi smacks of intimidationIndian 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 worlds largest democracy CPJ said in a statement The searches by the tax authorities of the offices of BBCWorld in Inde 3 weeks after the censorship of his documentary on narendramodi constitute an outrageous reprisal RSF denounces these attempts to silence any criticism of the Indian government Parisbased Reporters Without Borders RSF tweetedAmnesty International tweeted 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 weaponised 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 it said in a statementAlso read IT survey at BBC offices brazen hounding of BJPled central govts critics Mehbooba MuftiThe South Asia Solidarity Group a human rights organisation based in the UK dubbed it a blatantly vindictive move In the wake of the governments ban on sharing extracts or screening the documentary this raid makes it clear that the Modi government will attack all those who criticise Narendra Modi the BJP and those close to them said Mukti Shah spokesperson for the groupIn New Delhi officials said the survey was being carried out to investigate issues related to international taxation and transfer pricing of BBC subsidiary companies and alleged that the BBC had been served with notices in the past but was defiant and noncompliant and had significantly diverted its profitsThe IT action against the BBC comes weeks after the broadcaster aired a controversial twopart documentary India The Modi Question on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 2002 Gujarat riots The Indian government has branded the twopart series a propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrativeThe bias lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset is blatantly visible the Ministry of External Affairs MEA said at the time it was aired in the UK last monthThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever