The Editors Guild of India, Tuesday, slammed the tax surveys at the British Broadcasting Corporation’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai, terming the action as the continuation of the “trend” of the government using its agencies to “intimidate and harass” media outlets who are critical of their regime or its policies.

In a statement, the Guild expressed “deep concern” over the development and asked that great care and sensitivity must be displayed in such investigations to not undermine the rights of journalists and media organisations.

The Guild noted that Income Tax department’s action came within weeks after the release of the controversial two-part documentary by the BBC questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots and the also the current situation of minorities in India.

The Guild in its statement said that the documentary stirred political waters, with the government criticising the BBC for wrong and prejudiced reportage on the Gujarat violence and attempting to ban online access and viewing of the films in India.

The Guild recalled that IT surveys were conducted in 2021 at the offices of NewsClick, Newslaundry, Dainik Bhaskar, and Bharat Samachar and each of those cases “the raids and surveys were against the backdrop of critical coverage of the government establishment by the news organisations.”

The Guild cautioned that this is a dangerous trend that undermines constitutional democracy and also reiterated its earlier demand that governments ensure that such investigations are conducted within the prescribed rules and that they don’t degenerate into instruments of harassment to intimidate independent media.

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The Guild’s statement comes hours after sleuths from the Income Tax (IT) Department carried out survey exercises at the Delhi and Mumbai offices of UK national broadcaster BBC.

Reports quoting sources said a team of 15 officials from the IT department swooped down on BBC’s Mumbai and Delhi offices and conducted survey operations over allegations related to of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing irregularities.

According to reports, the IT department scrutinized documents related to the broadcaster’s day-to-day business operations of the company and those related to its Indian arm.

In an official release, the Income Tax Department clarified that these exercises are classified as surveys and not raids as earlier reports had suggested, adding that as part of a survey, the department only covers the business premises of a company and does not raid residences and other locations of its promoters or directors.

Earlier, reports said that the IT department sleuths seized the mobile phones of the BBC employees in the morning and asked them to go home, while employees scheduled for afternoon shift at BBC’s Delhi office were told to work from home.

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The survey by Income Tax Department at BBC Delhi and Mumbai has created a stir on and off social media. And now has taken a dig on the corporation and rival political parties. BJP said whether it is Congress or Samajwadi Party they all have the same agenda.

BJP MLA’a have said that the Income Tax survey at BBC is a matter of concern for every Indian. And while Congress leaders said that the survey by the department is a way to demolish the Indian democracy, the ruling party has a reply to that as well.

BJP spokespersons have said that firstly, Congress has to understand that India is governed by law and constitution and that no investigative agency has become a caged parrot in PM Modi’s government, which Congress will reprimand. The government and the Income Tax Department is doing its work.

The ruling party further added that, be it any agency, media or a company working in India, will have to follow the law. “If you haven’t done anything wrong, followed the law, then why fear and worry. The Income Tax Department should be allowed to do its job,” added BJP.

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The words did not end there, BJP went ahead and said that its not wrong to say that the propaganda of BBC and the agenda of Congress coincide together. India is moving forward under the leadership of PM Modi, leading the G20. But some powers do not like this. But when India moves forward, be it foreign media agencies or Rahul Gandhi and other political parties, they got to have a problem with that.

BBC has a history of working against India in a malicious manner. Congress should remember how Mrs. Indira Gandhi herself banned BBC, said BJP leader. Addressing the press conference, BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia explained how an agenda is taken forward under the guise of journalism. “In a program by BBC: The Unleashed, the presenter of the program described the terrorist commander in Kashmir as a charismatic young militant. What kind of reporting is this! You want to work in India and try to hurt the integrity of India. Similarly, India is known for its cultural diversity all over the world. Without knowing about festivals, emotions, traditions, BBC also called Holi is a dirty festival. There are many examples of how superficial and toxic the BBC’s reporting has been,” said the BJP leader.

The BJP also added that BBC presenter shamelessly said that Mahatma Gandhi had failed to liberate India in 1942 itself. Moreover, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher also lashed out at the BBC. He called BBC the Bolshevik Broadcasting Corporation.

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