From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Press Club of India on Tuesday strongly condemned the IT “surveys” at the offices of the BBC in India, noting that it is part of a series of attacks on the media by the government agencies in recent times, especially against those sections of the media that the government perceives as hostile to it.
In a statement, it said it is deeply unfortunate as this latest instance appears to be a clearcut case of vendetta, coming on the heels of a BBC documentary on the Gujarat riots. It said this documentary, which appears to be the immediate provocation for the raids, has already been banned on Youtube and social media networks.
The BBC had also stated that the documentary on the Gujarat riots was based on a report from the British Foreign Office. The government if it has any issue with the report, should take it up with the concerned office rather than shoot the messenger.
“We are deeply concerned that such an action on an international broadcasting network will damage the reputation of India as the largest democracy globally,” said Press Club President Umakant Lakhera and secretary general Vinay Kumar in a statement.
Calling upon all journalists and the media networks in the country to oppose such acts of the government, they appealed to the Government to restrain its agencies from “misusing their powers in order to intimidate the media.”
