Report Wire

Tag: BBC Documentary

  • BJP to suggest decision towards BBC’s 2002 riots documentary in Gujarat Assembly

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vipul Patel will on Friday transfer a decision within the Assembly in search of “strong action” towards the “concocted” findings proven in a BBC documentary, which he alleged “once again attempts to blame the then-state government” for the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

    The proposed decision will probably say the BBC documentary was a “low-level attempt” to tarnish India’s international picture.

    “India is a democratic country and freedom of expression is at the core of its Constitution, but that does not mean that a news media can abuse such freedom,” based on a abstract of the proposed decision shared by the Assembly secretariat on Tuesday.

    The two-part BBC documentary, titled “India: The Modi Question”, claimed it investigated sure facets referring to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state.

    “If someone behaves or acts like this (BBC), then he cannot be taken lightly. BBC is losing its credibility and seems to be working with some hidden agenda against India and the Indian government. Hence, this House requests the Central Government to take strict action against the mind-boggling findings shown in the BBC documentary,” mentioned a word on the decision to be moved by Patel.

    The controversial documentary once more “attempts to blame the then-state government for the 2002 Godhra riots and subsequent communal riots in Gujarat,” mentioned the word.

    The BBC documentary misrepresents the occasions of 2002 and is a malicious and low-level try to tarnish India’s international picture, it mentioned.

    Through the documentary, deliberate makes an attempt have been made to tarnish the picture and recognition of Prime Minister Modi with an agenda to have an effect on India’s aim to be in a high place on the planet, mentioned the word.

    This, even though the Nanavati-Shah inquiry fee concluded after a radical investigation that burning of the Sabarmati Express close to Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002, was a premeditated conspiracy, and the riots that adopted have been spontaneous, it mentioned.

    The fee discovered no proof that the state authorities or any non secular group or political occasion performed any position within the riots, said the word.

    The Assembly, which is having its Budget session, will meet on Friday after a two-day break.

    AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vipul Patel will on Friday transfer a decision within the Assembly in search of “strong action” towards the “concocted” findings proven in a BBC documentary, which he alleged “once again attempts to blame the then-state government” for the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

    The proposed decision will probably say the BBC documentary was a “low-level attempt” to tarnish India’s international picture.

    “India is a democratic country and freedom of expression is at the core of its Constitution, but that does not mean that a news media can abuse such freedom,” based on a abstract of the proposed decision shared by the Assembly secretariat on Tuesday.googletag.cmd.push(perform() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

    The two-part BBC documentary, titled “India: The Modi Question”, claimed it investigated sure facets referring to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state.

    “If someone behaves or acts like this (BBC), then he cannot be taken lightly. BBC is losing its credibility and seems to be working with some hidden agenda against India and the Indian government. Hence, this House requests the Central Government to take strict action against the mind-boggling findings shown in the BBC documentary,” mentioned a word on the decision to be moved by Patel.

    The controversial documentary once more “attempts to blame the then-state government for the 2002 Godhra riots and subsequent communal riots in Gujarat,” mentioned the word.

    The BBC documentary misrepresents the occasions of 2002 and is a malicious and low-level try to tarnish India’s international picture, it mentioned.

    Through the documentary, deliberate makes an attempt have been made to tarnish the picture and recognition of Prime Minister Modi with an agenda to have an effect on India’s aim to be in a high place on the planet, mentioned the word.

    This, even though the Nanavati-Shah inquiry fee concluded after a radical investigation that burning of the Sabarmati Express close to Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002, was a premeditated conspiracy, and the riots that adopted have been spontaneous, it mentioned.

    The fee discovered no proof that the state authorities or any non secular group or political occasion performed any position within the riots, said the word.

    The Assembly, which is having its Budget session, will meet on Friday after a two-day break.

  • UK Foreign Secy raises BBC tax searches with EAM, firmly informed all entities ‘should comply’ with legal guidelines

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Wednesday mentioned that the problem of searches on BBC places of work in India was raised with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar throughout a bilateral assembly in the present day.

    Cleverly, at the moment in India to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, introduced up the problem of the BBC tax searches throughout his assembly with Jaishankar, sources informed ANI. “Cleverly was firmly told that all entities operating in India must comply fully with relevant laws and regulations,” in accordance with sources.

    In February this yr, Income Tax authorities carried out searches on the places of work of the British broadcaster in New Delhi and Mumbai.

    Speaking to ANI in an unique interview, Cleverly mentioned that BBC is an unbiased organisation and is separate from the UK Government.

    “I didn’t see the documentary but I’ve seen reactions in UK and India. BBC is an independent organisation and separate from the government. I enjoy a strong personal relationship with Dr Jaishankar…relationship between UK-India growing stronger by the day,” mentioned Cleverly when requested in regards to the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    The BBC had in January this yr launched the documentary movie titled ‘India: The Modi Question,” which options the Gujarat riots of 2002. The movie induced controversy for alluding to the management of Modi as chief minister through the riots whereas disregarding the clear chit given by the Supreme Court.

    Meanwhile talking on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the UK, Cleverly mentioned, “We do a lot of business with India and are working extensively. I’ll be meeting India’s trade secretary. We want to make sure this trade agreement really benefits both the countries and unlocks billions of pounds of bilateral trade.”

    Cleverly added that the UK appears to be like ahead to bringing the commerce settlement to a conclusion in the end of time.

    Commending India’s G20 presidency Cleverly mentioned it’s fairly thrilling and the occasion holds has improbable alternatives. “This is a great opportunity to talk about sustainable economic agenda and green agenda,” he mentioned.

    The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) is scheduled to happen in bodily format from March 1-2, 2023 in New Delhi below India’s presidency.

    Representatives of 40 nations, together with non-G20 members have invited by India, and multilateral organisations will attend.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi is predicted to handle the overseas ministers of the member nations of G20 and he’ll speak about India’s rising affect globally.

    The overseas ministers are additionally prone to focus on methods to take care of falling financial progress, rising inflation, decrease calls for for items and providers in addition to rising costs of meals, gasoline and fertilisers.

    NEW DELHI: British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Wednesday mentioned that the problem of searches on BBC places of work in India was raised with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar throughout a bilateral assembly in the present day.

    Cleverly, at the moment in India to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, introduced up the problem of the BBC tax searches throughout his assembly with Jaishankar, sources informed ANI. “Cleverly was firmly told that all entities operating in India must comply fully with relevant laws and regulations,” in accordance with sources.

    In February this yr, Income Tax authorities carried out searches on the places of work of the British broadcaster in New Delhi and Mumbai.googletag.cmd.push(operate() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); );

    Speaking to ANI in an unique interview, Cleverly mentioned that BBC is an unbiased organisation and is separate from the UK Government.

    “I didn’t see the documentary but I’ve seen reactions in UK and India. BBC is an independent organisation and separate from the government. I enjoy a strong personal relationship with Dr Jaishankar…relationship between UK-India growing stronger by the day,” mentioned Cleverly when requested in regards to the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    The BBC had in January this yr launched the documentary movie titled ‘India: The Modi Question,” which options the Gujarat riots of 2002. The movie induced controversy for alluding to the management of Modi as chief minister through the riots whereas disregarding the clear chit given by the Supreme Court.

    Meanwhile talking on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the UK, Cleverly mentioned, “We do a lot of business with India and are working extensively. I’ll be meeting India’s trade secretary. We want to make sure this trade agreement really benefits both the countries and unlocks billions of pounds of bilateral trade.”

    Cleverly added that the UK appears to be like ahead to bringing the commerce settlement to a conclusion in the end of time.

    Commending India’s G20 presidency Cleverly mentioned it’s fairly thrilling and the occasion holds has improbable alternatives. “This is a great opportunity to talk about sustainable economic agenda and green agenda,” he mentioned.

    The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) is scheduled to happen in bodily format from March 1-2, 2023 in New Delhi below India’s presidency.

    Representatives of 40 nations, together with non-G20 members have invited by India, and multilateral organisations will attend.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi is predicted to handle the overseas ministers of the member nations of G20 and he’ll speak about India’s rising affect globally.

    The overseas ministers are additionally prone to focus on methods to take care of falling financial progress, rising inflation, decrease calls for for items and providers in addition to rising costs of meals, gasoline and fertilisers.

  • BBC tax raids put India’s press freedom in highlight

    By AFP

    NEW DELHI: Just weeks after the BBC aired a documentary inspecting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s position in lethal 2002 sectarian riots, tax inspectors descended on the broadcaster’s workplaces.

    Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party says the 2 should not linked, however rights teams say the BBC raids this week present the parlous state of press freedom on this planet’s largest democracy.

    News retailers that publish unfavourable reporting discover themselves focused with authorized motion, whereas journalists important of the federal government are harassed and even imprisoned.

    The three-day lockdown of the BBC’s workplaces in New Delhi and Mumbai is the newest of a number of related “search and survey” operations in opposition to media homes.

    “Unfortunately, this is becoming a trend, there is no shying away from that,” Kunal Majumdar of the Committee to Protect Journalists informed AFP.

    At least 4 Indian retailers that had critically reported on the federal government have been raided by tax officers or monetary crimes investigators previously two years, he stated. As with the BBC, these retailers stated officers confiscated telephones and accessed computer systems utilized by journalists.

    “When you have authorities trying to go through your material, go through your work, that’s intimidation,” Majumdar added. “The international community ought to wake up and start taking this matter seriously.”

    India has fallen 10 spots to one hundred and fiftieth on the World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, since Modi took workplace in 2014.

    Journalists have lengthy confronted harassment, authorized threats and intimidation for his or her work in India however extra legal circumstances are being lodged in opposition to reporters than ever, based on the Free Speech Collective.

    Criminal complaints have been issued in opposition to a report 67 journalists in 2020, the newest yr for which figures can be found, the native civil society group reported.

    Ten journalists have been behind bars in India in the beginning of the yr, based on Reporters Without Borders.

    Once arrested, reporters can spend months and even years ready for the circumstances in opposition to them to proceed by way of the courts.

    ‘Why be afraid?’
    The BBC documentary explored Modi’s time as chief minister of Gujarat state throughout spiritual riots that killed a minimum of 1,000 individuals, most of them minority Muslims.

    The programme cited a British overseas ministry report claiming that Modi met senior cops and “ordered them not to intervene” in anti-Muslim violence by right-wing Hindu teams.

    The two-part sequence featured a BBC interview with Modi shortly after the riots, wherein he was requested whether or not he may have dealt with the matter otherwise.

    Modi responded that his fundamental weak spot was not realizing “how to handle the media”.

    “That’s been something he has been taking care of since,” Hartosh Singh Bal, the political editor of India’s Caravan journal, informed AFP.

    “That sums up his attitude.”

    The BBC documentary didn’t air in India however provoked a livid response from the federal government, which dismissed its contents as “hostile propaganda”.

    Authorities used data know-how legal guidelines to ban the sharing of hyperlinks to the programme in an effort to cease its unfold on social media.

    Gaurav Bhatia, a BJP spokesman, stated this week’s raids on the BBC workplaces have been lawful and the timing had nothing to do with the documentary’s broadcast.

    “If you have been following the law of the country, if you have nothing to hide, why be afraid of an action that is according to the law,” he informed reporters.

    ‘Misogynistic and sectarian assaults’
    Unfavourable reporting in India can immediate not solely authorized threats from the federal government, however a daunting backlash from members of the general public.

    “Indian journalists who are too critical of the government are subjected to all-out harassment and attack campaigns by Modi devotees,” Reporters Without Borders stated final yr.

    Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub has been a persistent goal of Modi supporters since conducting an undercover investigation that alleged authorities officers have been implicated within the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    She has been subjected to a web-based disinformation barrage, together with doctored tweets suggesting she had defended baby rapists and a report falsely asserting her arrest for cash laundering.

    UN-appointed consultants singled out her case final yr and stated she had endured “relentless misogynistic and sectarian attacks”.

    They additionally stated Ayyub had been focused by Indian authorities with varied types of harassment, together with the freezing of her financial institution accounts over tax fraud and cash laundering allegations.

    “I am witnessing a depravity daily that I had not witnessed before,” Ayyub informed AFP.

    Burnt copies of a e book she authored had been despatched to her dwelling in Mumbai and somebody threatened to gang-rape her in entrance of her household, she stated.

    “They are emboldened,” she added, “knowing that nobody will take action against them.”

    NEW DELHI: Just weeks after the BBC aired a documentary inspecting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s position in lethal 2002 sectarian riots, tax inspectors descended on the broadcaster’s workplaces.

    Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party says the 2 should not linked, however rights teams say the BBC raids this week present the parlous state of press freedom on this planet’s largest democracy.

    News retailers that publish unfavourable reporting discover themselves focused with authorized motion, whereas journalists important of the federal government are harassed and even imprisoned.

    The three-day lockdown of the BBC’s workplaces in New Delhi and Mumbai is the newest of a number of related “search and survey” operations in opposition to media homes.

    “Unfortunately, this is becoming a trend, there is no shying away from that,” Kunal Majumdar of the Committee to Protect Journalists informed AFP.

    At least 4 Indian retailers that had critically reported on the federal government have been raided by tax officers or monetary crimes investigators previously two years, he stated. As with the BBC, these retailers stated officers confiscated telephones and accessed computer systems utilized by journalists.

    “When you have authorities trying to go through your material, go through your work, that’s intimidation,” Majumdar added. “The international community ought to wake up and start taking this matter seriously.”

    India has fallen 10 spots to one hundred and fiftieth on the World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, since Modi took workplace in 2014.

    Journalists have lengthy confronted harassment, authorized threats and intimidation for his or her work in India however extra legal circumstances are being lodged in opposition to reporters than ever, based on the Free Speech Collective.

    Criminal complaints have been issued in opposition to a report 67 journalists in 2020, the newest yr for which figures can be found, the native civil society group reported.

    Ten journalists have been behind bars in India in the beginning of the yr, based on Reporters Without Borders.

    Once arrested, reporters can spend months and even years ready for the circumstances in opposition to them to proceed by way of the courts.

    ‘Why be afraid?’
    The BBC documentary explored Modi’s time as chief minister of Gujarat state throughout spiritual riots that killed a minimum of 1,000 individuals, most of them minority Muslims.

    The programme cited a British overseas ministry report claiming that Modi met senior cops and “ordered them not to intervene” in anti-Muslim violence by right-wing Hindu teams.

    The two-part sequence featured a BBC interview with Modi shortly after the riots, wherein he was requested whether or not he may have dealt with the matter otherwise.

    Modi responded that his fundamental weak spot was not realizing “how to handle the media”.

    “That’s been something he has been taking care of since,” Hartosh Singh Bal, the political editor of India’s Caravan journal, informed AFP.

    “That sums up his attitude.”

    The BBC documentary didn’t air in India however provoked a livid response from the federal government, which dismissed its contents as “hostile propaganda”.

    Authorities used data know-how legal guidelines to ban the sharing of hyperlinks to the programme in an effort to cease its unfold on social media.

    Gaurav Bhatia, a BJP spokesman, stated this week’s raids on the BBC workplaces have been lawful and the timing had nothing to do with the documentary’s broadcast.

    “If you have been following the law of the country, if you have nothing to hide, why be afraid of an action that is according to the law,” he informed reporters.

    ‘Misogynistic and sectarian assaults’
    Unfavourable reporting in India can immediate not solely authorized threats from the federal government, however a daunting backlash from members of the general public.

    “Indian journalists who are too critical of the government are subjected to all-out harassment and attack campaigns by Modi devotees,” Reporters Without Borders stated final yr.

    Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub has been a persistent goal of Modi supporters since conducting an undercover investigation that alleged authorities officers have been implicated within the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    She has been subjected to a web-based disinformation barrage, together with doctored tweets suggesting she had defended baby rapists and a report falsely asserting her arrest for cash laundering.

    UN-appointed consultants singled out her case final yr and stated she had endured “relentless misogynistic and sectarian attacks”.

    They additionally stated Ayyub had been focused by Indian authorities with varied types of harassment, together with the freezing of her financial institution accounts over tax fraud and cash laundering allegations.

    “I am witnessing a depravity daily that I had not witnessed before,” Ayyub informed AFP.

    Burnt copies of a e book she authored had been despatched to her dwelling in Mumbai and somebody threatened to gang-rape her in entrance of her household, she stated.

    “They are emboldened,” she added, “knowing that nobody will take action against them.”

  • I-T dept ‘survey’ at BBC India’s workplaces proceed for second straight day

    By Online Desk

    NEW DELHI: India’s tax officers searched BBC workplaces in India for a second straight day on Wednesday questioning employees concerning the group’s enterprise operations within the nation, some employees members stated.

    BBC administration instructed editorial and different employees members to make money working from home after they had been in a position to go away the workplace on Tuesday night time, stated employees who spoke on situation of anonymity as they weren’t licensed to speak to media. The searches got here weeks after the BBC aired a documentary vital of Prime Minister Narendra Modi within the U.Okay.

    There was no in a single day break within the search and investigators scanned the desktops of some workers who had been earlier instructed to not use their telephones and maintain them apart, the employees members stated.

    Indian revenue tax officers haven’t made any statements because the searches had been launched within the BBC’s New Delhi and Mumbai workplaces on Tuesday morning. The survey is being carried out to research points associated to worldwide taxation and switch pricing of BBC subsidiary corporations, officers stated on Tuesday.

    The tax division had launched the motion on Tuesday on the BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai workplaces together with a minimum of two linked premises as a part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion towards the British broadcaster in India. The tax officers are talking to staffers of the BBC within the finance and another departments at the same time as different staffers and journalists had been allowed to depart Tuesday night time. Some laptop peripherals, copies of digital and paper-based monetary information and cell phones had been cloned as a part of the operation, officers had stated.

    Rights teams and opposition politicians denounced the transfer by the Income Tax Department as an try to intimidate the media. India’s News Broadcasters and Digital Association have additionally criticized the revenue tax “surveys” on the BBC workplaces.

    Britain’s publicly funded nationwide broadcaster stated it was cooperating totally with authorities and hoped “to have this situation resolved as soon as possible.” Late within the night, the BBC stated officers had been nonetheless on the two workplaces. “Many staff have now left the building but some have been asked to remain and are continuing to cooperate with the ongoing inquiries,” it stated, including: “Our output and journalism continue as normal.”

    ALSO READ | Editors Guild ‘deeply involved’ about I-T survey at BBC workplaces

    While there was no British authorities assertion up to now, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price stated on Tuesday: “We are aware of the search of the BBC offices in Delhi by Indian tax authorities.”

    “We support the importance of a free press around the world. We continue to highlight the importance of freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief as human rights that contribute to strengthening democracies around the world. It has strengthened this democracy here in this country. It has strengthened India’s democracy,” Price instructed reporters in Washington.

    While the affiliation “maintains that no establishment is above the regulation, it condemns any try to muzzle and intimidate the media and intervene with the free functioning of journalists and media organizations,” it stated in a press release.

    Gaurav Bhatia, a spokesperson for Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party, stated the BBC ought to don’t have anything to concern if it follows Indian legal guidelines. But he added that the broadcaster’s historical past is “tainted” and “full of hatred” for India and known as it corrupt, with out providing any specifics.

    The documentary, “India: The Modi Question,” was broadcast within the U.Okay. final month, inspecting the prime minister’s position within the 2002 anti-Muslim riots within the western state of Gujarat, the place he was chief minister on the time. More than 1,000 folks had been killed within the violence.

    Modi has denied allegations that authorities underneath his watch allowed and even inspired the bloodshed, and the Supreme Court stated it discovered no proof to prosecute him. Last 12 months, the courtroom dismissed a petition filed by a Muslim sufferer questioning Modi’s exoneration.

    The second portion of the two-part documentary examined “the track record of Narendra Modi’s government following his re-election in 2019,” in keeping with the BBC web site.

    The program drew an instantaneous backlash from India’s authorities, which invoked emergency powers underneath its info expertise legal guidelines to dam it from being proven within the nation. Local authorities scrambled to cease screenings organized at Indian universities, and social media platforms together with Twitter and YouTube complied with authorities requests to take away hyperlinks to the documentary.

    The Supreme Court final week dismissed a plea in search of the imposition of an entire ban on the BBC in India within the wake of the controversial documentary, terming the petition “entirely misconceived” and “absolutely meritless.”

    The BBC stated on the time that the documentary was “rigorously researched” and concerned a variety of voices and opinions. “We offered the Indian Government a right to reply to the matters raised in the series — it declined to respond,” its assertion stated.

    India’s Foreign Ministry known as the documentary a “propaganda piece designed to push a particularly discredited narrative” that lacked objectivity.

    Press freedom in India has been on a gentle decline lately. The nation fell eight locations, to 150 out of 180 nations, within the 2022 Press Freedom Index revealed by Reporters Without Borders. Media watchdog teams accuse the Modi authorities of silencing criticism on social media underneath a sweeping web regulation that places digital platforms together with Twitter and Facebook underneath direct authorities oversight.

    Some media retailers vital of the federal government have been subjected to tax searches.

    Authorities searched the workplaces of the left-leaning web site NewsClick on and unbiased media portal Newslaundry on the identical day in 2021. Tax officers additionally accused the Dainik Bhaskar newspaper of tax evasion in 2021 after it revealed experiences of mass funeral pyres and floating corpses that challenged the federal government’s dealing with of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2017, the federal government’s investigation bureau stated it was probing circumstances of mortgage defaults when it raided the workplaces of New Delhi Television, identified for its liberal slant.

    (With inputs from PTI, AP)

    ALSO WATCH |

    NEW DELHI: India’s tax officers searched BBC workplaces in India for a second straight day on Wednesday questioning employees concerning the group’s enterprise operations within the nation, some employees members stated.

    BBC administration instructed editorial and different employees members to make money working from home after they had been in a position to go away the workplace on Tuesday night time, stated employees who spoke on situation of anonymity as they weren’t licensed to speak to media. The searches got here weeks after the BBC aired a documentary vital of Prime Minister Narendra Modi within the U.Okay.

    There was no in a single day break within the search and investigators scanned the desktops of some workers who had been earlier instructed to not use their telephones and maintain them apart, the employees members stated.

    Indian revenue tax officers haven’t made any statements because the searches had been launched within the BBC’s New Delhi and Mumbai workplaces on Tuesday morning. The survey is being carried out to research points associated to worldwide taxation and switch pricing of BBC subsidiary corporations, officers stated on Tuesday.

    The tax division had launched the motion on Tuesday on the BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai workplaces together with a minimum of two linked premises as a part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion towards the British broadcaster in India. The tax officers are talking to staffers of the BBC within the finance and another departments at the same time as different staffers and journalists had been allowed to depart Tuesday night time. Some laptop peripherals, copies of digital and paper-based monetary information and cell phones had been cloned as a part of the operation, officers had stated.

    Rights teams and opposition politicians denounced the transfer by the Income Tax Department as an try to intimidate the media. India’s News Broadcasters and Digital Association have additionally criticized the revenue tax “surveys” on the BBC workplaces.

    Britain’s publicly funded nationwide broadcaster stated it was cooperating totally with authorities and hoped “to have this situation resolved as soon as possible.” Late within the night, the BBC stated officers had been nonetheless on the two workplaces. “Many staff have now left the building but some have been asked to remain and are continuing to cooperate with the ongoing inquiries,” it stated, including: “Our output and journalism continue as normal.”

    ALSO READ | Editors Guild ‘deeply involved’ about I-T survey at BBC workplaces

    While there was no British authorities assertion up to now, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price stated on Tuesday: “We are aware of the search of the BBC offices in Delhi by Indian tax authorities.”

    “We support the importance of a free press around the world. We continue to highlight the importance of freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief as human rights that contribute to strengthening democracies around the world. It has strengthened this democracy here in this country. It has strengthened India’s democracy,” Price instructed reporters in Washington.

    While the affiliation “maintains that no establishment is above the regulation, it condemns any try to muzzle and intimidate the media and intervene with the free functioning of journalists and media organizations,” it stated in a press release.

    Gaurav Bhatia, a spokesperson for Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party, stated the BBC ought to don’t have anything to concern if it follows Indian legal guidelines. But he added that the broadcaster’s historical past is “tainted” and “full of hatred” for India and known as it corrupt, with out providing any specifics.

    The documentary, “India: The Modi Question,” was broadcast within the U.Okay. final month, inspecting the prime minister’s position within the 2002 anti-Muslim riots within the western state of Gujarat, the place he was chief minister on the time. More than 1,000 folks had been killed within the violence.

    Modi has denied allegations that authorities underneath his watch allowed and even inspired the bloodshed, and the Supreme Court stated it discovered no proof to prosecute him. Last 12 months, the courtroom dismissed a petition filed by a Muslim sufferer questioning Modi’s exoneration.

    The second portion of the two-part documentary examined “the track record of Narendra Modi’s government following his re-election in 2019,” in keeping with the BBC web site.

    The program drew an instantaneous backlash from India’s authorities, which invoked emergency powers underneath its info expertise legal guidelines to dam it from being proven within the nation. Local authorities scrambled to cease screenings organized at Indian universities, and social media platforms together with Twitter and YouTube complied with authorities requests to take away hyperlinks to the documentary.

    The Supreme Court final week dismissed a plea in search of the imposition of an entire ban on the BBC in India within the wake of the controversial documentary, terming the petition “entirely misconceived” and “absolutely meritless.”

    The BBC stated on the time that the documentary was “rigorously researched” and concerned a variety of voices and opinions. “We offered the Indian Government a right to reply to the matters raised in the series — it declined to respond,” its assertion stated.

    India’s Foreign Ministry known as the documentary a “propaganda piece designed to push a particularly discredited narrative” that lacked objectivity.

    Press freedom in India has been on a gentle decline lately. The nation fell eight locations, to 150 out of 180 nations, within the 2022 Press Freedom Index revealed by Reporters Without Borders. Media watchdog teams accuse the Modi authorities of silencing criticism on social media underneath a sweeping web regulation that places digital platforms together with Twitter and Facebook underneath direct authorities oversight.

    Some media retailers vital of the federal government have been subjected to tax searches.

    Authorities searched the workplaces of the left-leaning web site NewsClick on and unbiased media portal Newslaundry on the identical day in 2021. Tax officers additionally accused the Dainik Bhaskar newspaper of tax evasion in 2021 after it revealed experiences of mass funeral pyres and floating corpses that challenged the federal government’s dealing with of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2017, the federal government’s investigation bureau stated it was probing circumstances of mortgage defaults when it raided the workplaces of New Delhi Television, identified for its liberal slant.

    (With inputs from PTI, AP)

    ALSO WATCH |

  • Editors Guild ‘deeply involved’ about I-T survey at BBC places of work

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Editors Guild of India on Tuesday stated it was “deeply concerned” concerning the Income Tax surveys on the places of work of BBC India and termed it as a continuation of a “trend” of utilizing authorities companies to “intimidate and harass” media retailers important of the ruling institution.

    In a press release, the Guild additionally demanded that nice care and sensitivity be proven in all such investigations in order to not undermine the rights of journalists and media organisations.

    The assertion got here after Income Tax authorities performed a survey operation on the BBC’s places of work in Delhi and Mumbai as a part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion.

    The motion, it’s learnt, is being carried out to analyze some worldwide taxation and switch pricing points.

    The broadcaster stated it was “fully cooperating” with the tax authorities.

    “The survey by the I-T 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,” the Guild stated in a press release right here.

    The Guild famous that the IT survey got here quickly after the discharge of two documentaries by the BBC on the 2002 violence in Gujarat and the present standing of the minorities in India.

    The documentaries stirred political waters, with the federal government criticising the BBC for flawed and prejudiced reportage on the Gujarat violence and making an attempt to ban on-line entry and viewing of the movies in India, it stated.

    It recalled that IT surveys have been performed in 2021 on the places of work of NewsClick, Newslaundry, Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Samachar.

    “In each case, the raids and surveys were against the backdrop of critical coverage of the government establishment by the news organisations,” the Guild stated.

    “This is a trend that undermines constitutional democracy,” it stated.

    The Guild reiterated its earlier demand that governments be certain that such investigations are performed throughout the prescribed guidelines and that they do not degenerate into devices of harassment to intimidate impartial media.

    NEW DELHI: The Editors Guild of India on Tuesday stated it was “deeply concerned” concerning the Income Tax surveys on the places of work of BBC India and termed it as a continuation of a “trend” of utilizing authorities companies to “intimidate and harass” media retailers important of the ruling institution.

    In a press release, the Guild additionally demanded that nice care and sensitivity be proven in all such investigations in order to not undermine the rights of journalists and media organisations.

    The assertion got here after Income Tax authorities performed a survey operation on the BBC’s places of work in Delhi and Mumbai as a part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion.

    The motion, it’s learnt, is being carried out to analyze some worldwide taxation and switch pricing points.

    The broadcaster stated it was “fully cooperating” with the tax authorities.

    “The survey by the I-T 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,” the Guild stated in a press release right here.

    The Guild famous that the IT survey got here quickly after the discharge of two documentaries by the BBC on the 2002 violence in Gujarat and the present standing of the minorities in India.

    The documentaries stirred political waters, with the federal government criticising the BBC for flawed and prejudiced reportage on the Gujarat violence and making an attempt to ban on-line entry and viewing of the movies in India, it stated.

    It recalled that IT surveys have been performed in 2021 on the places of work of NewsClick, Newslaundry, Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Samachar.

    “In each case, the raids and surveys were against the backdrop of critical coverage of the government establishment by the news organisations,” the Guild stated.

    “This is a trend that undermines constitutional democracy,” it stated.

    The Guild reiterated its earlier demand that governments be certain that such investigations are performed throughout the prescribed guidelines and that they do not degenerate into devices of harassment to intimidate impartial media.

  • BBC’s reporting ‘venomous’, permit I-T dept to do its job: BJP on Tax ‘survey’

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Tuesday accused the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) of unleashing “venomous” reporting towards India and alleged that its propaganda and the Congress’ agenda go collectively.

    The remarks got here quickly after Income Tax officers ‘surveyed’ the British broadcaster’s workplaces in Mumbai and Delhi.

    Addressing a press convention, BJP nationwide spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia rejected the Congress’ criticism of the Income Tax (I-T) motion and mentioned the federal government company must be allowed to do its job.

    Hitting out on the London-headquartered public broadcaster, he mentioned BBC is the “most corrupt” organisation on the earth, including that the Congress ought to do not forget that the then prime minister Indira Gandhi had additionally banned the broadcaster. The BJP chief additional claimed that BBC has a “tainted and black history of working with malice against India.”

    He cited its previous experiences, together with the one which described a terrorist as a “charismatic young militant” and allegedly known as Holi a “filthy” pageant. It works in India, however has little regard for its structure, he mentioned.

    At a time when India is marching forward globally beneath Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s management, there are various powers which don’t prefer it, Bhatia mentioned, claiming that the Congress, its chief Rahul Gandhi and different opposition events additionally really feel the “pain” on the nation’s rise.

    Accusing the opposition Congress of supporting “anti-national” forces, he mentioned, “Your hate for Modi is so much that you politicise even a probe agency’s work. You always question constitutional authorities like the Supreme Court and the Election Commission.”

    The Income Tax Department on Tuesday performed a survey operation at BBC workplaces in Delhi and Mumbai as a part of a tax evasion investigation, officers mentioned.

    The Congress on Tuesday took a swipe on the authorities over the Income Tax survey operation on the BBC workplaces, saying whereas they had been demanding a JPC on the Adani concern, the Centre is after the BBC.

    Congress normal secretary Jairam Ramesh additionally used a Hindi idiom to assault the federal government, saying “Vinash Kale, Vipreet Buddhi” (when doom approaches, an individual’s mind works towards his curiosity).

    A latest BBC collection on the 2002 Gujarat riots has are available for criticism from the ruling BJP in India, with the federal government blocking entry to it on social media platforms.

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Tuesday accused the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) of unleashing “venomous” reporting towards India and alleged that its propaganda and the Congress’ agenda go collectively.

    The remarks got here quickly after Income Tax officers ‘surveyed’ the British broadcaster’s workplaces in Mumbai and Delhi.

    Addressing a press convention, BJP nationwide spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia rejected the Congress’ criticism of the Income Tax (I-T) motion and mentioned the federal government company must be allowed to do its job.

    Hitting out on the London-headquartered public broadcaster, he mentioned BBC is the “most corrupt” organisation on the earth, including that the Congress ought to do not forget that the then prime minister Indira Gandhi had additionally banned the broadcaster. The BJP chief additional claimed that BBC has a “tainted and black history of working with malice against India.”

    He cited its previous experiences, together with the one which described a terrorist as a “charismatic young militant” and allegedly known as Holi a “filthy” pageant. It works in India, however has little regard for its structure, he mentioned.

    At a time when India is marching forward globally beneath Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s management, there are various powers which don’t prefer it, Bhatia mentioned, claiming that the Congress, its chief Rahul Gandhi and different opposition events additionally really feel the “pain” on the nation’s rise.

    Accusing the opposition Congress of supporting “anti-national” forces, he mentioned, “Your hate for Modi is so much that you politicise even a probe agency’s work. You always question constitutional authorities like the Supreme Court and the Election Commission.”

    The Income Tax Department on Tuesday performed a survey operation at BBC workplaces in Delhi and Mumbai as a part of a tax evasion investigation, officers mentioned.

    The Congress on Tuesday took a swipe on the authorities over the Income Tax survey operation on the BBC workplaces, saying whereas they had been demanding a JPC on the Adani concern, the Centre is after the BBC.

    Congress normal secretary Jairam Ramesh additionally used a Hindi idiom to assault the federal government, saying “Vinash Kale, Vipreet Buddhi” (when doom approaches, an individual’s mind works towards his curiosity).

    A latest BBC collection on the 2002 Gujarat riots has are available for criticism from the ruling BJP in India, with the federal government blocking entry to it on social media platforms.

  • Congress assaults Centre over Income Tax ‘survey operation’ at BBC places of work

    By Agencies

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday took a swipe on the authorities over the Income Tax survey operation on the BBC places of work, saying whereas they’re demanding a JPC on the Adani difficulty it’s after the BBC.

    The Income Tax Department on Tuesday performed a survey operation on the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) places of work in Delhi and Mumbai as a part of a tax evasion investigation, officers stated.

    The Congress termed the I-T division’s ‘survey operations’ on the BBC places of work as an ‘act of intimidation’ and stated the federal government was petrified of criticism.

    Party General Secretary Okay.C. Venugopal stated, “The I-T raid at BBC’s offices reeks of desperation and shows that the Modi government is scared of criticism.”

    “We condemn these intimidation tactics in the harshest terms. This undemocratic and dictatorial attitude cannot go on any longer,” he added.

    Congress normal secretary Jairam Ramesh additionally used a Hindi idiom to assault the federal government, saying “Vinash Kale, Vipreet Buddhi” (When doom approaches, an individual’s mind works towards his curiosity).

    “Here we are demanding JPC on the Adani issue but the government is after the BBC. Vinash Kale Viprit Buddhi,” Ramesh stated.

    As a part of a survey, the Income Tax Department solely covers the enterprise premises of an organization and doesn’t raid residences and different areas of its promoters or administrators.

    (With Inputs from PTI, IANS)

    NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday took a swipe on the authorities over the Income Tax survey operation on the BBC places of work, saying whereas they’re demanding a JPC on the Adani difficulty it’s after the BBC.

    The Income Tax Department on Tuesday performed a survey operation on the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) places of work in Delhi and Mumbai as a part of a tax evasion investigation, officers stated.

    The Congress termed the I-T division’s ‘survey operations’ on the BBC places of work as an ‘act of intimidation’ and stated the federal government was petrified of criticism.

    Party General Secretary Okay.C. Venugopal stated, “The I-T raid at BBC’s offices reeks of desperation and shows that the Modi government is scared of criticism.”

    “We condemn these intimidation tactics in the harshest terms. This undemocratic and dictatorial attitude cannot go on any longer,” he added.

    Congress normal secretary Jairam Ramesh additionally used a Hindi idiom to assault the federal government, saying “Vinash Kale, Vipreet Buddhi” (When doom approaches, an individual’s mind works towards his curiosity).

    “Here we are demanding JPC on the Adani issue but the government is after the BBC. Vinash Kale Viprit Buddhi,” Ramesh stated.

    As a part of a survey, the Income Tax Department solely covers the enterprise premises of an organization and doesn’t raid residences and different areas of its promoters or administrators.

    (With Inputs from PTI, IANS)

  • ‘Intimidation techniques, heights of dictatorship’: Opposition events on BBC I-T ‘survey’

    By Online Desk

    NEW DELHI: India’s opposition events have criticised the PM Modi-led BJP authorities over the Income Tax ‘survey’ operation on the BBC places of work in Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday.

    The Congress termed the ‘survey’ operations as an ‘act of intimidation’ and stated the federal government was fearful of criticism. Party General Secretary Ok.C. Venugopal stated, “The I-T raid at BBC’s offices reeks of desperation and shows that the Modi government is scared of criticism.”

    “We condemn these intimidation tactics in the harshest terms. This undemocratic and dictatorial attitude cannot go on any longer,” he added.

    Meanwhile, senior Congress chief Jairam Ramesh stated, “Here we’re demanding JPC on the Adani subject however the authorities is after the BBC. Vinash Kale Viprit Buddhi.

    The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) additionally slammed the centre saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached the “heights of dictatorship.”

    “Modi ji, you have reached the heights of dictatorship,” stated AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who can also be the get together’s nationwide spokesperson, in a tweet in Hindi, reacting sharply to the survey.

    “First, imposed a ban on the BBC documentary. Now raids at their offices. Don’t forget Modi ji, Hitler’s dictatorship also came to an end. Your dictatorship will also end,” the AAP chief added.

    Meanwhile, the CPI(M) questioned if India stays the “mother of democracy.” Party’s General Secretary Sitaram Yechury additionally slammed the federal government for not accepting the opposition’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani Group subject.

    “First ban BBC documentaries. No JPC/enquiry into Adani exposures. Now IT raids on BBC offices! India: ‘Mother of democracy’?” Yechury stated in a tweet.

    We condemn searches carried out by the Income Tax division at BBC places of work in Delhi and Mumbai. This is a blatant try to intimidate and harass the tv channel for having telecast the documentary, `The Modi Question’. This customary tactic of the Modi govt gained’t wash. pic.twitter.com/EnXlQoKMtW

    — Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) February 14, 2023

    CPI MP Binoy Viswam, however, stated the “IT survey” was the try of a “frightened government” to “strangle” the voice of reality. He additionally alleged that the motion was a “raid” and never a “survey.”

    “Raid on BBC! They call it a survey! This survey is a killing spree of a frightened govt. To strangle the voice of truth. The world is witnessing it. When Modi presides over the G-20, they will ask about India’s record on freedom of the press. Can he reply truthfully?” Viswam stated in a tweet.

    The Income Tax Department on Tuesday carried out a survey operation on the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) places of work in Delhi and Mumbai as a part of a tax evasion investigation, officers stated.

    The shock motion comes weeks after the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary, “India: The Modi Question” even because the Centre blocked entry to this sequence at a number of YouTube movies and Twitter posts sharing any hyperlinks.

    Last week, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea in search of to impose an entire ban on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in India in wake of the documentary sequence, terming it “entirely misconceived” and “absolutely meritless.”

    (With Inputs from PTI, IANS)

    NEW DELHI: India’s opposition events have criticised the PM Modi-led BJP authorities over the Income Tax ‘survey’ operation on the BBC places of work in Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday.

    The Congress termed the ‘survey’ operations as an ‘act of intimidation’ and stated the federal government was fearful of criticism. Party General Secretary Ok.C. Venugopal stated, “The I-T raid at BBC’s offices reeks of desperation and shows that the Modi government is scared of criticism.”

    “We condemn these intimidation tactics in the harshest terms. This undemocratic and dictatorial attitude cannot go on any longer,” he added.

    Meanwhile, senior Congress chief Jairam Ramesh stated, “Here we’re demanding JPC on the Adani subject however the authorities is after the BBC. Vinash Kale Viprit Buddhi.

    The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) additionally slammed the centre saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached the “heights of dictatorship.”

    “Modi ji, you have reached the heights of dictatorship,” stated AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who can also be the get together’s nationwide spokesperson, in a tweet in Hindi, reacting sharply to the survey.

    “First, imposed a ban on the BBC documentary. Now raids at their offices. Don’t forget Modi ji, Hitler’s dictatorship also came to an end. Your dictatorship will also end,” the AAP chief added.

    Meanwhile, the CPI(M) questioned if India stays the “mother of democracy.” Party’s General Secretary Sitaram Yechury additionally slammed the federal government for not accepting the opposition’s demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani Group subject.

    “First ban BBC documentaries. No JPC/enquiry into Adani exposures. Now IT raids on BBC offices! India: ‘Mother of democracy’?” Yechury stated in a tweet.

    We condemn searches carried out by the Income Tax division at BBC places of work in Delhi and Mumbai. This is a blatant try to intimidate and harass the tv channel for having telecast the documentary, `The Modi Question’. This customary tactic of the Modi govt gained’t wash. pic.twitter.com/EnXlQoKMtW
    — Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) February 14, 2023
    CPI MP Binoy Viswam, however, stated the “IT survey” was the try of a “frightened government” to “strangle” the voice of reality. He additionally alleged that the motion was a “raid” and never a “survey.”

    “Raid on BBC! They call it a survey! This survey is a killing spree of a frightened govt. To strangle the voice of truth. The world is witnessing it. When Modi presides over the G-20, they will ask about India’s record on freedom of the press. Can he reply truthfully?” Viswam stated in a tweet.

    The Income Tax Department on Tuesday carried out a survey operation on the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) places of work in Delhi and Mumbai as a part of a tax evasion investigation, officers stated.

    The shock motion comes weeks after the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary, “India: The Modi Question” even because the Centre blocked entry to this sequence at a number of YouTube movies and Twitter posts sharing any hyperlinks.

    Last week, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea in search of to impose an entire ban on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in India in wake of the documentary sequence, terming it “entirely misconceived” and “absolutely meritless.”

    (With Inputs from PTI, IANS)

  • Income Tax division conducts ‘survey’ operation at BBC’s Delhi, Mumbai workplaces

    By Agencies

    NEW DELHI: The Income Tax Department raided the BBC’s New Delhi and Mumbai workplaces on Tuesday, weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the lethal sectarian riots in 2002.

    As a part of a survey, the Income Tax Department solely covers the enterprise premises of an organization and doesn’t raid residences and different places of its promoters or administrators. The division is taking a look at paperwork associated to the enterprise operations of the London headquartered public broadcaster and its Indian arm, they stated. The investigation is linked to worldwide taxation problems with BBC subsidiary corporations, sources indicated.

    The synchronised shock motion started at 11 am with I-T officers reaching the BBC workplaces in Delhi and in Mumbai. Police sealed off the New Delhi workplace, which occupies two flooring, and half a dozen officers had been stationed outdoors to forestall folks from getting into or leaving. As information unfold, onlookers and media crews had been seen outdoors the BBC workplace at central Delhi’s Kasturba Gandhi Marg. In Mumbai, the workplace is in Santa Cruz.

    According to studies, the workers of the broadcasting company had been requested to not use their laptop techniques and telephones, together with their private ones. Reports quoting sources stated the workers working within the afternoon shift on the BBC’s Delhi workplace had been requested to earn a living from home, whereas these current within the workplace had been requested to go away early.

    A BBC worker primarily based in New Delhi instructed AFP that the tax raid was in progress and that officers had been “confiscating all phones.”

    Another BBC staffer primarily based in Mumbai confirmed the broadcaster’s workplace in India’s business hub was additionally being raided.

    An official on the scene stated: “There is government procedure happening inside the office,” declining to reveal their division. Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department couldn’t be reached for remark by AFP.

    Last month, the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary alleging that Hindu nationalist Modi ordered police to show a blind eye to sectarian riots in Gujarat state, the place he was premier on the time. The violence left no less than 1,000 folks lifeless, most of them minority Muslims.

    India’s authorities blocked movies and tweets sharing hyperlinks to the documentary, utilizing emergency powers below its info expertise legal guidelines. Government adviser Kanchan Gupta had slammed the documentary as “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage.”

    University scholar teams later organised viewings of the documentary regardless of campus bans, defying authorities efforts to cease its unfold. Police arrested two dozen college students on the prestigious Delhi University after stopping a screening there in late January.

    ALSO READ | Congress assaults Centre over Income Tax ‘survey operation’ at BBC workplaces

    Press freedom

    Press freedom on this planet’s greatest democracy has suffered throughout Modi’s tenure, rights activists say.

    India has fallen 10 spots to 150 out of 180 international locations within the World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, since he took workplace in 2014.

    Critical reporters, notably girls, say they’re subjected to relentless campaigns of on-line abuse.

    Media shops, worldwide rights teams and overseas charities have additionally discovered themselves subjected to scrutiny by India’s tax authorities and monetary crimes investigators.

    Late Catholic nun Mother Teresa’s charity final 12 months discovered itself briefly starved of funds after the house ministry refused to resume its licence to obtain overseas donations.

    Amnesty International introduced it was halting operations in India after the federal government froze its financial institution accounts in 2020, following raids on its workplaces.

    In 2021, Indian tax authorities raided a outstanding newspaper and a TV channel that had been crucial of the federal government’s dealing with of the coronavirus pandemic, triggering accusations of intimidation.

    ALSO READ | Centre claims BBC documentary on PM Modi a ‘Propaganda piece’

    ‘Campaign of violence’

    The 2002 riots in Gujarat started after 59 Hindu pilgrims had been killed in a hearth on a practice. Thirty-one Muslims had been convicted of prison conspiracy and homicide over that incident.

    The BBC documentary cited a beforehand categorised British overseas ministry report quoting unnamed sources saying that Modi met senior law enforcement officials and “ordered them not to intervene” within the anti-Muslim violence by right-wing Hindu teams that adopted.

    The violence was “politically motivated” and the goal “was to purge Muslims from Hindu areas”, the overseas ministry report stated.

    The “systematic campaign of violence has all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing” and was unimaginable “without the climate of impunity created by the State Government… Narendra Modi is directly responsible”, it concluded.

    Modi, who ran Gujarat from 2001 till his election as prime minister in 2014, was briefly topic to a journey ban by the United States over the violence.

    A particular investigative group appointed by India’s Supreme Court to probe the roles of Modi and others within the violence stated in 2012 it didn’t discover any proof to prosecute the then chief minister.

    (Further studies awaited)
    (With Inputs from AFP, PTI, IANS)

    NEW DELHI: The Income Tax Department raided the BBC’s New Delhi and Mumbai workplaces on Tuesday, weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the lethal sectarian riots in 2002.

    As a part of a survey, the Income Tax Department solely covers the enterprise premises of an organization and doesn’t raid residences and different places of its promoters or administrators. The division is taking a look at paperwork associated to the enterprise operations of the London headquartered public broadcaster and its Indian arm, they stated. The investigation is linked to worldwide taxation problems with BBC subsidiary corporations, sources indicated.

    The synchronised shock motion started at 11 am with I-T officers reaching the BBC workplaces in Delhi and in Mumbai. Police sealed off the New Delhi workplace, which occupies two flooring, and half a dozen officers had been stationed outdoors to forestall folks from getting into or leaving. As information unfold, onlookers and media crews had been seen outdoors the BBC workplace at central Delhi’s Kasturba Gandhi Marg. In Mumbai, the workplace is in Santa Cruz.

    According to studies, the workers of the broadcasting company had been requested to not use their laptop techniques and telephones, together with their private ones. Reports quoting sources stated the workers working within the afternoon shift on the BBC’s Delhi workplace had been requested to earn a living from home, whereas these current within the workplace had been requested to go away early.

    A BBC worker primarily based in New Delhi instructed AFP that the tax raid was in progress and that officers had been “confiscating all phones.”

    Another BBC staffer primarily based in Mumbai confirmed the broadcaster’s workplace in India’s business hub was additionally being raided.

    An official on the scene stated: “There is government procedure happening inside the office,” declining to reveal their division. Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department couldn’t be reached for remark by AFP.

    Last month, the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary alleging that Hindu nationalist Modi ordered police to show a blind eye to sectarian riots in Gujarat state, the place he was premier on the time. The violence left no less than 1,000 folks lifeless, most of them minority Muslims.

    India’s authorities blocked movies and tweets sharing hyperlinks to the documentary, utilizing emergency powers below its info expertise legal guidelines. Government adviser Kanchan Gupta had slammed the documentary as “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage.”

    University scholar teams later organised viewings of the documentary regardless of campus bans, defying authorities efforts to cease its unfold. Police arrested two dozen college students on the prestigious Delhi University after stopping a screening there in late January.

    ALSO READ | Congress assaults Centre over Income Tax ‘survey operation’ at BBC workplaces

    Press freedom

    Press freedom on this planet’s greatest democracy has suffered throughout Modi’s tenure, rights activists say.

    India has fallen 10 spots to 150 out of 180 international locations within the World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, since he took workplace in 2014.

    Critical reporters, notably girls, say they’re subjected to relentless campaigns of on-line abuse.

    Media shops, worldwide rights teams and overseas charities have additionally discovered themselves subjected to scrutiny by India’s tax authorities and monetary crimes investigators.

    Late Catholic nun Mother Teresa’s charity final 12 months discovered itself briefly starved of funds after the house ministry refused to resume its licence to obtain overseas donations.

    Amnesty International introduced it was halting operations in India after the federal government froze its financial institution accounts in 2020, following raids on its workplaces.

    In 2021, Indian tax authorities raided a outstanding newspaper and a TV channel that had been crucial of the federal government’s dealing with of the coronavirus pandemic, triggering accusations of intimidation.

    ALSO READ | Centre claims BBC documentary on PM Modi a ‘Propaganda piece’

    ‘Campaign of violence’

    The 2002 riots in Gujarat started after 59 Hindu pilgrims had been killed in a hearth on a practice. Thirty-one Muslims had been convicted of prison conspiracy and homicide over that incident.

    The BBC documentary cited a beforehand categorised British overseas ministry report quoting unnamed sources saying that Modi met senior law enforcement officials and “ordered them not to intervene” within the anti-Muslim violence by right-wing Hindu teams that adopted.

    The violence was “politically motivated” and the goal “was to purge Muslims from Hindu areas”, the overseas ministry report stated.

    The “systematic campaign of violence has all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing” and was unimaginable “without the climate of impunity created by the State Government… Narendra Modi is directly responsible”, it concluded.

    Modi, who ran Gujarat from 2001 till his election as prime minister in 2014, was briefly topic to a journey ban by the United States over the violence.

    A particular investigative group appointed by India’s Supreme Court to probe the roles of Modi and others within the violence stated in 2012 it didn’t discover any proof to prosecute the then chief minister.

    (Further studies awaited)
    (With Inputs from AFP, PTI, IANS)

  • I-T division conducts ‘survey’ operation at BBC’s workplaces; broadcaster points assertion

    By Agencies

    NEW DELHI: The Income Tax Department raided the workplaces of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in New Delhi and Mumbai workplaces on Tuesday, weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the lethal sectarian riots in 2002.

    As a part of a survey, the Income Tax Department solely covers the enterprise premises of an organization and doesn’t raid residences and different places of its promoters or administrators. The division is paperwork associated to the enterprise operations of the London headquartered public broadcaster and its Indian arm, they mentioned. The investigation is linked to worldwide taxation problems with BBC subsidiary firms, sources indicated.

    The synchronised shock motion started at 11 am with I-T officers reaching the BBC workplaces in Delhi and in Mumbai. Police sealed off the New Delhi workplace, which occupies two flooring, and half a dozen officers have been stationed exterior to stop folks from coming into or leaving. As information unfold, onlookers and media crews have been seen exterior the BBC workplace at central Delhi’s Kasturba Gandhi Marg. In Mumbai, the workplace is in Santa Cruz.

    According to studies, the staff of the broadcasting company have been requested to not use their laptop methods and telephones, together with their private ones. Reports quoting sources mentioned the staff working within the afternoon shift on the BBC’s Delhi workplace have been requested to work at home, whereas these current within the workplace have been requested to go away early.

    A BBC worker based mostly in New Delhi instructed AFP that the tax raid was in progress and that officers have been “confiscating all phones.”

    Another BBC staffer based mostly in Mumbai confirmed the broadcaster’s workplace in India’s industrial hub was additionally being raided.

    WATCH |

    An official on the scene mentioned: “There is government procedure happening inside the office,” declining to reveal their division. Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department couldn’t be reached for remark by AFP.

    Last month, the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary alleging that Hindu nationalist Modi ordered police to show a blind eye to sectarian riots in Gujarat state, the place he was premier on the time. The violence left no less than 1,000 folks useless, most of them minority Muslims.

    India’s authorities blocked movies and tweets sharing hyperlinks to the documentary, utilizing emergency powers below its data expertise legal guidelines. Government adviser Kanchan Gupta had slammed the documentary as “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage.”

    University scholar teams later organised viewings of the documentary regardless of campus bans, defying authorities efforts to cease its unfold. Police arrested two dozen college students on the prestigious Delhi University after stopping a screening there in late January.

    ALSO READ | Congress assaults Centre over Income Tax ‘survey operation’ at BBC workplaces

    ‘Fully cooperating’, says BBC 

    Meanwhile, The BBC mentioned on Tuesday that it’s “fully cooperating” with the Income Tax authorities and hoped that the state of affairs might be resolved “as soon as possible.”

    The UK-headquartered public broadcaster didn’t give additional particulars of what has been described as “surveys” by the I-T division. “The Income Tax Authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and we are fully cooperating,” a BBC spokesperson mentioned in an announcement.

    “We hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible,” the spokesperson mentioned.

    The documentary additionally triggered coordinated Indian diaspora protests at BBC workplaces throughout totally different UK cities on the finish of final month. Earlier, The UK authorities responded within the House of Commons to the protests by insisting the BBC as a media organisation was “independent in its outlet” and reiterating its dedication to enhancing ties with India.

    Press freedom

    Press freedom on the planet’s greatest democracy has suffered throughout Modi’s tenure, rights activists say. India has fallen 10 spots to 150 out of 180 international locations within the World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, since he took workplace in 2014. Critical reporters, notably ladies, say they’re subjected to relentless campaigns of on-line abuse.

    Media shops, worldwide rights teams and overseas charities have additionally discovered themselves subjected to scrutiny by India’s tax authorities and monetary crimes investigators. Late Catholic nun Mother Teresa’s charity final 12 months discovered itself quickly starved of funds after the house ministry refused to resume its licence to obtain overseas donations. Amnesty International introduced it was halting operations in India after the federal government froze its financial institution accounts in 2020, following raids on its workplaces.

    In 2021, Indian tax authorities raided a distinguished newspaper and a TV channel that had been vital of the federal government’s dealing with of the coronavirus pandemic, triggering accusations of intimidation.

    ALSO READ | Centre claims BBC documentary on PM Modi a ‘Propaganda piece’

    ‘Campaign of violence’

    The 2002 riots in Gujarat started after 59 Hindu pilgrims have been killed in a fireplace on a practice. Thirty-one Muslims have been convicted of prison conspiracy and homicide over that incident. The BBC documentary cited a beforehand categorized British overseas ministry report quoting unnamed sources saying that Modi met senior law enforcement officials and “ordered them not to intervene” within the anti-Muslim violence by right-wing Hindu teams that adopted.

    The violence was “politically motivated” and the purpose “was to purge Muslims from Hindu areas”, the overseas ministry report mentioned. The “systematic campaign of violence has all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing” and was not possible “without the climate of impunity created by the State Government… Narendra Modi is directly responsible”, it concluded.

    Modi, who ran Gujarat from 2001 till his election as prime minister in 2014, was briefly topic to a journey ban by the United States over the violence. A particular investigative workforce appointed by India’s Supreme Court to probe the roles of Modi and others within the violence mentioned in 2012 it didn’t discover any proof to prosecute the then chief minister.

    (Further studies awaited)
    (With Inputs from AFP, PTI, IANS)

    NEW DELHI: The Income Tax Department raided the workplaces of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in New Delhi and Mumbai workplaces on Tuesday, weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the lethal sectarian riots in 2002.

    As a part of a survey, the Income Tax Department solely covers the enterprise premises of an organization and doesn’t raid residences and different places of its promoters or administrators. The division is paperwork associated to the enterprise operations of the London headquartered public broadcaster and its Indian arm, they mentioned. The investigation is linked to worldwide taxation problems with BBC subsidiary firms, sources indicated.

    The synchronised shock motion started at 11 am with I-T officers reaching the BBC workplaces in Delhi and in Mumbai. Police sealed off the New Delhi workplace, which occupies two flooring, and half a dozen officers have been stationed exterior to stop folks from coming into or leaving. As information unfold, onlookers and media crews have been seen exterior the BBC workplace at central Delhi’s Kasturba Gandhi Marg. In Mumbai, the workplace is in Santa Cruz.

    According to studies, the staff of the broadcasting company have been requested to not use their laptop methods and telephones, together with their private ones. Reports quoting sources mentioned the staff working within the afternoon shift on the BBC’s Delhi workplace have been requested to work at home, whereas these current within the workplace have been requested to go away early.

    A BBC worker based mostly in New Delhi instructed AFP that the tax raid was in progress and that officers have been “confiscating all phones.”

    Another BBC staffer based mostly in Mumbai confirmed the broadcaster’s workplace in India’s industrial hub was additionally being raided.

    WATCH |

    An official on the scene mentioned: “There is government procedure happening inside the office,” declining to reveal their division. Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department couldn’t be reached for remark by AFP.

    Last month, the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary alleging that Hindu nationalist Modi ordered police to show a blind eye to sectarian riots in Gujarat state, the place he was premier on the time. The violence left no less than 1,000 folks useless, most of them minority Muslims.

    India’s authorities blocked movies and tweets sharing hyperlinks to the documentary, utilizing emergency powers below its data expertise legal guidelines. Government adviser Kanchan Gupta had slammed the documentary as “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage.”

    University scholar teams later organised viewings of the documentary regardless of campus bans, defying authorities efforts to cease its unfold. Police arrested two dozen college students on the prestigious Delhi University after stopping a screening there in late January.

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    ‘Fully cooperating’, says BBC 

    Meanwhile, The BBC mentioned on Tuesday that it’s “fully cooperating” with the Income Tax authorities and hoped that the state of affairs might be resolved “as soon as possible.”

    The UK-headquartered public broadcaster didn’t give additional particulars of what has been described as “surveys” by the I-T division. “The Income Tax Authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and we are fully cooperating,” a BBC spokesperson mentioned in an announcement.

    “We hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible,” the spokesperson mentioned.

    The documentary additionally triggered coordinated Indian diaspora protests at BBC workplaces throughout totally different UK cities on the finish of final month. Earlier, The UK authorities responded within the House of Commons to the protests by insisting the BBC as a media organisation was “independent in its outlet” and reiterating its dedication to enhancing ties with India.

    Press freedom

    Press freedom on the planet’s greatest democracy has suffered throughout Modi’s tenure, rights activists say. India has fallen 10 spots to 150 out of 180 international locations within the World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, since he took workplace in 2014. Critical reporters, notably ladies, say they’re subjected to relentless campaigns of on-line abuse.

    Media shops, worldwide rights teams and overseas charities have additionally discovered themselves subjected to scrutiny by India’s tax authorities and monetary crimes investigators. Late Catholic nun Mother Teresa’s charity final 12 months discovered itself quickly starved of funds after the house ministry refused to resume its licence to obtain overseas donations. Amnesty International introduced it was halting operations in India after the federal government froze its financial institution accounts in 2020, following raids on its workplaces.

    In 2021, Indian tax authorities raided a distinguished newspaper and a TV channel that had been vital of the federal government’s dealing with of the coronavirus pandemic, triggering accusations of intimidation.

    ALSO READ | Centre claims BBC documentary on PM Modi a ‘Propaganda piece’

    ‘Campaign of violence’

    The 2002 riots in Gujarat started after 59 Hindu pilgrims have been killed in a fireplace on a practice. Thirty-one Muslims have been convicted of prison conspiracy and homicide over that incident. The BBC documentary cited a beforehand categorized British overseas ministry report quoting unnamed sources saying that Modi met senior law enforcement officials and “ordered them not to intervene” within the anti-Muslim violence by right-wing Hindu teams that adopted.

    The violence was “politically motivated” and the purpose “was to purge Muslims from Hindu areas”, the overseas ministry report mentioned. The “systematic campaign of violence has all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing” and was not possible “without the climate of impunity created by the State Government… Narendra Modi is directly responsible”, it concluded.

    Modi, who ran Gujarat from 2001 till his election as prime minister in 2014, was briefly topic to a journey ban by the United States over the violence. A particular investigative workforce appointed by India’s Supreme Court to probe the roles of Modi and others within the violence mentioned in 2012 it didn’t discover any proof to prosecute the then chief minister.

    (Further studies awaited)
    (With Inputs from AFP, PTI, IANS)