Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh on Tuesday slammed the Centre over the Income Tax Department survey operation at the BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “reached the heights of dictatorship”.
“Modi ji, you have reached the heights of dictatorship. First, imposed a ban on the BBC documentary. Now raids at their offices..Don’t forget Modiji, Hitler’s dictatorship also came to an end. Your dictatorship will also end,” Singh tweeted in Hindi.
Also read: ‘Ideological emergency’: Opposition attacks Centre for BBC ‘survey’, BJP rebuts
The Income Tax Department is conducting a survey operation at the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai to investigate the alleged tax evasion. This comes weeks after the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary that looked at the 2002 Gujarat riots – ‘India: The Modi Question’ – even as the Centre had blocked access to the series on several YouTube and Twitter posts.
A Central Board of Direct Taxes official told Hindustan Times that it is a “survey and not a raid”. Another official said that the department is investigating “certain matters related to the BBC based on definite inputs of some irregularities”.
Meanwhile, the BBC said that it is “fully cooperating” with the IT department. “The Income Tax Authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai and we are fully cooperating,” the British broadcaster said on Twitter. “We hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible,” it added.