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Foreign media, rights bodies slam IT raids on BBC, play up India’s poor ‘press freedom’ score

International media like the New York Times, The Guardian & human rights bodies criticised the Centre’s move, calling it a ‘thin-skinned response to criticism’ and more.

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New Delhi: The international media and human rights bodies have criticised the Indian Income Tax department’s survey operation at the Delhi and Mumbai offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), weeks after it released a documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots called “India: The Modi Question”.

After more than 20 officials from the IT department reached the BBC’s offices Tuesday to probe irregularities in “transfer pricing” and “international taxation, the BBC Press Office released a statement, saying it was “fully cooperating” with authorities and hoped the situation would become normal as soon as possible.

American newspapers like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal criticised the BJP, highlighting the country’s decline to 150th position — out of 180 countries — in the “Reporters Without Borders” global ranking for press freedom.

New York Times called the Centre’s move a “thin-skinned response to criticism in stark contrast with India’s rising stature as an emerging power, with Mr. Modi frequently touting the South Asian giant’s democratic credentials on the global stage”.

It further added, “The Indian authorities under Mr. Modi have often used such raids against independent media organizations, human rights groups and think tanks in what activists call an effort to harass critical voices into silence by targeting their funding sources”.

US-based Washington Post also published a detailed analysis on the incident, saying that “press freedoms in India have been under attack from the start of the Modi era in 2014” and that such attacks on media organizations undermined the democratic values of the country.

“More than any action against prominent foreign media, this campaign of coercion and subversion has imperiled what Indians are proud to call ‘the world’s largest democracy’,” the Post said.

This probe comes days after a controversy over the BBC’s documentary series on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and allegations linked to his “role” in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

German news broadcaster DW also reported the probe, highlighting the Centre’s use of emergency powers to taken down links to the documentary from public platforms.

Last month, the Centre used its powers under the Information Technology Rules, 2021, to block multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the documentary.

British news organisation The Guardian focused on the UK government’s lack of a statement as well as the BBC’s reluctance to “seek formal political support”.

“The UK government has so far declined to comment on the raids, although a Foreign Office official said they had spoken to the BBC. The BBC has previously been reluctant to seek formal political support when it comes to such incidents in an attempt to make clear it is separate from the British state,” The Guardian said.

Apart from media organisations, several human rights bodies have also criticised the IT department’s probe into BBC offices.

The New York-based independent non-profit “Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)”, in a statement urging the government to stop harassing journalists, said: “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.”

Similarly, Paris-based “Reporters Without Borders (RSF)” called the search “an outrageous reprisal”, denouncing the government’s move.


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