GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 15th Feb. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday that the media is the fourth pillar of democracy, and that suppressing its voice is equivalent to suppressing the public’s voice.
His remarks came a day after the Income Tax department conducted a survey at the offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in Delhi and Mumbai. According to officials, the operation was carried out as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion.
“Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and an attack on its freedom is similar to suppressing the voice of public. Whosoever speaks against the BJP, these people deploy CBI, ED and I-T behind him,” Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.
“Does the BJP want to crush the country’s democratic system and institutions and turn the entire country into its slave?” he said.
The move sparked a heated political debate, with the ruling BJP accusing the BBC of “venomous reporting” and the opposition questioning the timing of the move, coming just weeks after the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Meanwhile, the Income Tax department survey operation against the BBC India continued for the second day on Wednesday with the sleuths understood to be making copies of electronic and paper-based financial data of the organisation, officials said.
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