NEW DELHI (TIP): Amid the Income Tax ‘surveys’ at BBC offices that concluded on Thursday, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju hit out at those criticizing the move, saying some people trusted foreign news outlets but not Indian investigative agencies, a TNS report says. Sharing an opinion piece by former Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, who argued that the outrage over the BBC tax ‘survey’ was misplaced, he said: “These people trust foreign news agencies but they won’t trust Indian agencies. They swear by the BBC but they won’t believe Indian courts. They’ll even abuse the Supreme Court if one adverse judgment is passed,” he tweeted.

The operation, that began at the BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai at 11.30 am on Tuesday, February 14, ended just after 10 pm on Thursday, February 16, clocking about 60 hours. The ‘surveys’ were carried out to look into issues related to international taxation and transfer pricing of BBC subsidiary companies. The survey teams, which sought answers on financial transactions, the company’s structure and other details, copied data from electronic gadgets to collect evidence, officials said. Opposition parties have denounced the action against the London-based broadcaster calling it “political vendetta” while questioning the timing — weeks after the BBC had aired a two-part documentary on the Prime Minister and the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Meanwhile, there has been no official statement from the Income Tax Department so far.
(Source: TNS)