Less than a month ago, the Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting invoked “emergency” powers under the 2021 IT Rules to order online media platforms to take down links sharing the first part of the BBC documentary, India: The Modi Question. On February 14, the Income Tax Department conducted “surveys” at the BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai — the first step in what is widely seen as a process-is-punishment treatment. Officials have alleged that the BBC is “non-compliant” under transfer pricing rules and has “diverted significant” profits. The BBC has said it is “fully co-operating” with authorities and hopes to have this “situation resolved” soon. Of course, the BBC has to answer to the law and has to address whatever questions the tax authorities have. But the parallel commentary by one of the ruling party’s national spokespersons trashing the news organisation as “corrupt” and “rubbish” and accusing it of supporting “anti-national” forces raises more than one question mark on due process. The action against the British media organisation with a global presence has come on the heels of the controversial documentary on the PM which the government has said sows “divisions among various communities, and (makes) unsubstantiated allegations.” Given the recent record of the government vis a vis sections of the media and civil society, the latest action against the BBC — the survey, taken together with the political attack — smacks of bullying and an attempt to intimidate.
Regrettably, this is part of a disquieting pattern. Last September, the tax authorities conducted similar surveys against Oxfam India, think tank Centre for Policy Research — which, incidentally, works with many state governments — and the Independent and Public Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF). The latter funds multiple digital media entities across political persuasions, some of which have been critical of the government. During those surveys, too, some phones and devices were seized, staff questioned, the inquiries hang fire, the cloud of uncertainty is allowed to hover.
