Ashish Ranjan
Firm Response From S Jaishankar: During a bilateral meeting today, British Foreign Minister James Cleverly raised the issue of tax inquiries on the BBC with Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. Mr. Jaishankar informed his British counterpart that all entities operating in India must abide by the law.
According to sources, the UK Foreign Minister was informed that all entities operating in India must comply with all applicable laws and regulations.Last month, the Income Tax department conducted a three-day inspection of the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai due to allegations of tax payment irregularities. Senior personnel were required to remain overnight to respond to survey questions.
The searches occurred weeks after the British public service broadcaster aired a documentary that was critical of Gujarat’s administration under Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2002 sectarian riots.
After concluding the investigation, the tax department claimed to have discovered “numerous indications” that “tax was not paid on certain remittances that were not disclosed as income in India by the foreign entities of the group.”
The audit uncovered discrepancies and inconsistencies in transfer pricing documentation, according to the tax department.The British government defended the BBC and its editorial independence days later.
“We advocate for the BBC. We support the BBC. We believe that the BBC World Service is crucial. We want the BBC to have editorial independence “The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office, David Rutley, made this statement.
“It criticises us (government), it criticises the (Opposition) Labour party, and it possesses the freedom that we deem so essential. That freedom is essential, and we wish to convey its significance to our international allies, including the Indian government “he said.
Opposition parties, accusing the government of retaliation against the BBC for the unflattering documentary, criticised the tax surveys on a wide scale.The two-part BBC series titled “India: The Modi Question” examines allegations that Prime Minister Modi, as Chief Minister of Gujarat, did not do enough to halt the 2002 riots; these allegations were dismissed by the Supreme Court.
Foreign Minister Jaishankar stated in an interview last week that the timing of the BBC documentary is “not coincidental” and criticised the foreign media’s narrative.”There is a term called “conflict by other means.” Consider: this is essentially politics by other means. Why has there been an abrupt increase in reports, interest, and opinions? Will not some of these occurrences recur?” In response to a query, Dr. Jaishankar declared:
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“I mean, do you question it? Take notice of the performers. What is occurring is, just as I told you — this trickle, drip, drip — the formation of an extremely extremist image of India, the government, the BJP, and the Prime Minister. I mean, this has been occurring for ten years “said Dr Jaishankar.
The purpose of these stories abroad, he stated, was to advance the anti-India agenda, and he urged those responsible to enter the political arena.
