Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has come out against the Income Tax Department’s inspection at the British Broadcasting Corporation’s(BBC’s) Delhi and Mumbai offices.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday Pinarayi Vijayan said Income Tax Department’s inspection at the BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai offices will be embarrassing to the country in front of the international community.
He said that the intent of the Income Tax Department’s actions is highly questionable and the international media have come out against this stating that that this is an attack on media freedom.
Stating that the BJP dispensation was outraged by the BBC documentary on the Gujarat genocide, Vijayan said it is in this context that the Income Tax Department has turned against the BBC. “It is in this context that the Income Tax Department has turned to the BBC. Criticism has been raised in the international media that this is an attack on media freedom, he wrote on Facebook.
Any move against freedom of the press is highly condemnable, the democratic society should look at this with concern, Pinarayi Vijayan further wrote in his post.