The Indian government has come under fire in the UK House of Commons over the Indian income tax authorities “raids” – as British MPs call them – of the BBC offices in Mumbai and Delhi.
MPs, largely from opposition parties, lined up to call for a more robust response from the British government to India over the income tax surveys carried out between 14 and 16 February at the BBC offices in India.
The debate followed an urgent question by Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon to ask foreign secretary James Cleverly to make a statement on the “raid of the BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai”, and allegations of tax evasion following the airing of the BBC documentary on Narendra Modi.
That the Indian income tax authorities had found that income and profits disclosed by the BBC were “not commensurate with the scale of operations in India” and the BBC did not pay taxes on certain remittances which have not been disclosed as income in India was not mentioned once during Monday’s debate.
Instead almost all the MPs saw the “raid of BBC offices in India” – as the debate was titled – as retaliation for the BBC Two documentary ‘India: the Modi Question’.
Shannon criticised the foreign, commonwealth and development office for “staying silent” over the tax surveys and condemned the “blatant attack on press freedoms.” He requested the UK government to “summon the Indian high commissioner” over the matter.
Labour MP Hilary Benn said that given the BJP had described the BBC as the most corrupt organisation in the world, was it not incumbent on the UK government to stand up for the BBC and its integrity.
Hamilton, shadow minister for peace and disarmament, said: “In a democracy with true media freedoms, criticism cannot be shut down unnecessarily and freedom of expression must be protected at all costs. Last week’s raids on the BBC in India are therefore deeply worrying, regardless of the official narrative on why they took place. The BBC is a globally respected broadcaster, rightly renowned for its high-quality, trustworthy reporting. It should be free to report and operate without intimidation. We Opposition members are particularly worried about reports that BBC staff were forced to stay in their offices overnight, and have faced lengthy questioning. In any democracy, the media must have the ability to criticise and scrutinise political leaders without fear of repercussions.”
David Rutley, parliamentary under-secretary of state for foreign commonwealth and development affairs, representing the government at the debate, did his best to be diplomatic and defend the BBC without attacking the Indian government. “We stand up for the BBC. We fund the BBC. We think the BBC World Service is vital,” Rutley said. “We want to be able to communicate its importance to our friends across the world, including the government of India.” He said he “cannot comment on the allegations made by India’s Income Tax Department.” He also said that the foreign office had agreed a package of funding for BBC World Service and additional funding to help with key languages.
Liberal Democrat MP Jamie Stone called on the UK government to ask the USA and other democracies to put pressure on India “and say this is unacceptable behaviour.”
“Political transparency and freedom of press are essential, but the BJP seems content to violate those principles,” said Scottish National Party foreign affairs spokesperson Drew Hendry.
“When will this government publicly acknowledge the curbing of freedom of expression that is resulting in diminishing democracy in India?” asked Pakistan-born Labour MP Afzal Khan.
Shannon said: “Let us be clear that this was a deliberate act of intimidation following the release of an unflattering documentary about the country’s leader. In the past six years, claims of financial irregularities and tax evasion have been used as justification for shutting down more than 14,000 media outlets and non-governmental organisations doing great work in India. They include such household names as Amnesty International, Greenpeace and Oxfam. That has had a chilling effect on journalists, human rights advocates and religious minorities.” Shannon also claimed that the UK-India trade deal had been signed hours before the raids. “That has led to allegations that the silence from the Government is due to the proximity of the raids to that deal,” he said. There has been no official announcement of the trade deal being signed.
Sources at the BBC told TOI that the BBC will respond appropriately to “any direct formal communication received from the Income Tax Department”.
MPs, largely from opposition parties, lined up to call for a more robust response from the British government to India over the income tax surveys carried out between 14 and 16 February at the BBC offices in India.
The debate followed an urgent question by Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon to ask foreign secretary James Cleverly to make a statement on the “raid of the BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai”, and allegations of tax evasion following the airing of the BBC documentary on Narendra Modi.
That the Indian income tax authorities had found that income and profits disclosed by the BBC were “not commensurate with the scale of operations in India” and the BBC did not pay taxes on certain remittances which have not been disclosed as income in India was not mentioned once during Monday’s debate.
Instead almost all the MPs saw the “raid of BBC offices in India” – as the debate was titled – as retaliation for the BBC Two documentary ‘India: the Modi Question’.
Shannon criticised the foreign, commonwealth and development office for “staying silent” over the tax surveys and condemned the “blatant attack on press freedoms.” He requested the UK government to “summon the Indian high commissioner” over the matter.
Labour MP Hilary Benn said that given the BJP had described the BBC as the most corrupt organisation in the world, was it not incumbent on the UK government to stand up for the BBC and its integrity.
Hamilton, shadow minister for peace and disarmament, said: “In a democracy with true media freedoms, criticism cannot be shut down unnecessarily and freedom of expression must be protected at all costs. Last week’s raids on the BBC in India are therefore deeply worrying, regardless of the official narrative on why they took place. The BBC is a globally respected broadcaster, rightly renowned for its high-quality, trustworthy reporting. It should be free to report and operate without intimidation. We Opposition members are particularly worried about reports that BBC staff were forced to stay in their offices overnight, and have faced lengthy questioning. In any democracy, the media must have the ability to criticise and scrutinise political leaders without fear of repercussions.”
David Rutley, parliamentary under-secretary of state for foreign commonwealth and development affairs, representing the government at the debate, did his best to be diplomatic and defend the BBC without attacking the Indian government. “We stand up for the BBC. We fund the BBC. We think the BBC World Service is vital,” Rutley said. “We want to be able to communicate its importance to our friends across the world, including the government of India.” He said he “cannot comment on the allegations made by India’s Income Tax Department.” He also said that the foreign office had agreed a package of funding for BBC World Service and additional funding to help with key languages.
Liberal Democrat MP Jamie Stone called on the UK government to ask the USA and other democracies to put pressure on India “and say this is unacceptable behaviour.”
“Political transparency and freedom of press are essential, but the BJP seems content to violate those principles,” said Scottish National Party foreign affairs spokesperson Drew Hendry.
“When will this government publicly acknowledge the curbing of freedom of expression that is resulting in diminishing democracy in India?” asked Pakistan-born Labour MP Afzal Khan.
Shannon said: “Let us be clear that this was a deliberate act of intimidation following the release of an unflattering documentary about the country’s leader. In the past six years, claims of financial irregularities and tax evasion have been used as justification for shutting down more than 14,000 media outlets and non-governmental organisations doing great work in India. They include such household names as Amnesty International, Greenpeace and Oxfam. That has had a chilling effect on journalists, human rights advocates and religious minorities.” Shannon also claimed that the UK-India trade deal had been signed hours before the raids. “That has led to allegations that the silence from the Government is due to the proximity of the raids to that deal,” he said. There has been no official announcement of the trade deal being signed.
Sources at the BBC told TOI that the BBC will respond appropriately to “any direct formal communication received from the Income Tax Department”.