Last Update: February 22, 2023, 23:34 IST
The BBC has said it is co-operating fully with the investigation and expects the situation to be resolved as soon as possible. (Reuters photo)
Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s information technology department, said the British broadcaster is under investigation by the Income Tax department for alleged tax avoidance by underreporting income and these are serious offences.
The BJP on Wednesday said the BBC or any other organization cannot hide its “economic crimes” under the garb of freedom of expression.
Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s information technology department, said the British broadcaster is under investigation by the Income Tax department for alleged tax avoidance by underreporting income and these are serious offences.
He said the BBC has to follow Indian laws to operate in the country.
The BJP’s response came after the British government’s strong defense of the BBC and its editorial independence in Parliament following Income Tax department survey operations last week on the media corporation’s New Delhi and Mumbai offices.
The BBC has said it is co-operating fully with the investigation and expects the situation to be resolved as soon as possible.
Malviya claimed that the international broadcaster has had a checkered past and accused it of trying to interfere in the internal affairs of democracies, including India.
He said it had once shown Russian tanks in Chechnya as Indian tanks in Kashmir “to suit its propaganda”.
Malaviya said India It is the “mother of democracy” and has a strong judicial system to ensure freedom of expression.
In a statement after the survey, the IT department had said that the income and profits declared by the units of the organization were “not commensurate with the scale of operations in India”.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) junior minister responded to an urgent question raised in the House of Commons in London on Tuesday, saying the government would not comment on allegations made on an ongoing investigation by the IT department. Can do, but insisted on the media. Liberty and freedom of speech are essential ingredients of a strong democracy.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)