New Delhi
CNN
—
Indian tax authorities raided the BBC’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday. It comes weeks after the country banned a British broadcaster documentary that criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in the riots more than two decades ago.
BBC News reported on television that people were not allowed in or out of the office.
The Indian government said it had used “emergency powers” to block the documentary from airing in the country, adding that both YouTube and Twitter had complied with the order.
The move is a polarizing reaction in the world’s largest democracy. Critics denounced it as an attack on press freedom, but Modi’s supporters rallied to his defense.
A BBC spokesperson told CNN the BBC was “cooperating fully” with the authorities. A spokeswoman said: “We hope this situation is resolved as soon as possible.
The two-part documentary India: The Modi Controversy criticized the then-Prime Minister during 2002 riots between majority Hindus and minority Muslims in the western state of Gujarat. It aired in the UK in January.
More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the violence and at least 220 went missing, according to government figures. According to official statistics, nearly 1,000 women were widowed and more than 600 children were orphaned.
Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in India in 2014, riding a wave of Hindu nationalism in a country of 1.3 billion, where nearly 80% of the population follow their faith.
The BBC reported in 2002 that Jack Straw, the UK’s foreign secretary and star in the documentary, said Modi “played an active role in pulling back the police and tacitly encouraging Hindu extremists.” He said that he claimed that
Modi has denied accusations that he failed to stop the riots. A special investigation team appointed by India’s Supreme Court in 2012 found no evidence to suggest he was responsible.
But the riots remain one of the darkest chapters in India’s post-independence history, with some victims still awaiting justice.
Last month, police detained some Delhi college students who tried to watch a banned film on campus, raising fears that their freedoms were being suppressed under Modi’s government.
At a press conference on Tuesday, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said businesses, including media agencies, “must follow and respect Indian law.”
“Anyone, any institution, regardless of media or company, working in India must obey and respect the laws of India. Let the revenue department do the work,’ he said.
India is a country that “provides opportunities for all organizations” as long as they are “willing to abide by” the country’s constitution, Mr Bhatia added.
The raid sparked censorship fears in India.
and statement tuesdaythe Indian Editors Guild said it was “deeply concerned” about the development.
The raids “are a continuation of the trend of using government agencies to intimidate and harass media outlets critical of government policies and establishments,” it said. “This is a trend that undermines constitutional democracy.”
The statement gives examples of similar searches conducted at various English-language local media offices such as News Click and News Laundry, as well as Hindi-language media organizations such as Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Samachar.
“The Guild requires the utmost care and diligence in all such investigations so as not to prejudice the rights of journalists and media organizations.
