The News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) has expressed its deep anguish over the Income Tax ‘surveys’ conducted at the offices of BBC, a member of NBDA.
In a statement, NBDA said, “While we maintain that no institution is above the law, we condemn any attempt to muzzle and intimidate the media and interfere with the free functioning of journalists and media organisations. Such attempts undermine the basic tenets of free speech as enshrined in the Constitution and severely affect the free and fearless functioning of a democracy.”
NBDA stated that such Income Tax ‘surveys’ lead to consistent harassment of the media, which also impacts the reputation and image of India as the world’s largest democracy.
The statement further read, “NBDA urges the Government to ensure that any investigation undertaken by it, must be in strict adherence to the principles of natural justice and the prevalent law.”
The raids happened weeks after India banned the BBC documentary that was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged role in deadly riots more than 20 years ago.
The two-part documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ criticised Modi, who was then-chief minister of the western state of Gujarat in 2002 when riots broke out.
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