BackIncome tax surveys at BBC premises continue for second day
Details of any alleged violation is not available yetThe survey by the tax department triggered a controversy on Tuesday
PremiumNEW DELHI : The Income Tax department's survey at the premises of BBC in India continued for the second day on Wednesday, a person informed about the development said on Wednesday.
Details of any alleged violation is not available yet. "As of now, operations are continuing and any assessment of violations can be made only after the procedures get completed," said the person who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Late on Tuesday, BBC said in a social media post that it hoped to have this situation resolved as soon as possible and that its output and journalism continued as normal and that the broadcaster was committed to serving its audience in India. UK's national broadcaster had also issued a statement on Tuesday saying that it was fully cooperating with the survey operation at its New Delhi and Mumbai offices.
Emails sent to the spokesperson for the finance ministry and to the PMO seeking comments for the story on Wednesday remained unanswered at the time of publishing. BBC did not offer any comments on Wednesday.
The survey by the tax department triggered a controversy on Tuesday with several opposition politicians linking it to a documentary aired by BBC in the UK on the 2002 Gujarat riots, which was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who at that time was the chief minister of the state. India's Information and Broadcasting ministry disallowed sharing of links of the documentary in YouTube and Twitter.
A spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs had on 19 January stated that the BBC documentary was a "propaganda piece designed to push a discredited narrative." The spokesperson had also alleged that "lack of objectivity and continuing colonial mindset" was "blatantly visible" in the documentary.
On Wednesday, the Opposition Congress party questioned the tax surveys and asked what image of India is Prime Minister Narendra Modi projecting through such actions at a time when the country is hosting the G-20, news agency PTI reported.
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