The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday accused the UK-based media organisation BBC of unleashing “venomous” reporting against India and further alleged that its “propaganda and the Congress’ agenda go together”. The saffron party also called the London-headquartered public broadcaster as the “most corrupt” organisation in the world.
Addressing a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia rejected the Congress’ criticism of the Income Tax (I-T) action and said the government agency should be allowed to do its job, adding that the “timing of the action was not decided by any government or outside power”.
The remarks came soon after Income Tax department surveys in the Delhi and Mumbai offices of BBC in connection with alleged tax evasion and irregularities.
The tax department’s action comes weeks after the BBC released a two-part documentary titled “India: The Modi Question”, which questioned the alleged links of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Centre on January 20, using its emergency powers, ordered YouTube and Twitter to take down links sharing the documentary.
The BJP leader further claimed that BBC has a “tainted and black history of working with malice against India”, and said that Congress should remember that former prime minister Indira Gandhi had imposed a ban on the broadcaster.
“BBC propaganda and Congress agenda go together. Congress should remember that its own leader and former prime minister Indira Gandhi had imposed a ban on the BBC,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress and other Opposition parties have hit out at the government following the I-T surveys. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that while Opposition parties have been demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe in the Adani-Hindenburg controversy, the Centre is going after the BBC.
Using a Hindi idiom, Ramesh said, “Vinash Kale, Vipreet Buddhi” (when doom approaches, a person’s intellect works against his interest).