Mounting a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government over the income-tax (I-T) department’s survey on BBC offices in India, the Congress on Wednesday asked what image the Prime Minister wishes to convey to the world, especially when India is hosting the G-20 summit later this year.
As the I-T surveys carried on for the second day, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said anyone questioning Mr Modi’s past is “raided” and their voices muzzled by using central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO) and I-T.
“Demolishing the fourth pillar of democracy has now become a mundane thing in ‘New India’. Modi ji had promised to run ‘Start-Up India’, but in amrit kaal it has become ‘Shut-Up India’,” Mr. Khera said.
“What image of India is Modi ji presenting to the world with this raid?” he asked.
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Modi’s oft-used phrase about the roots of democracy in India, the Congress spokesperson said, “By giving the slogan of ‘Mother of Democracy’, he himself has become the ‘Father of Hypocrisy’.... As I said, in the World Freedom of Press Index, we have already slipped from 142 to 150 in one year from 2021 to 2022”.
Linking the raids to BBC’s two-part documentary, India: The Modi Question, Mr. Khera said that before becoming Prime Minister in 2014, the Prime Minister used to laud the BBC.
“When Modi ji was dreaming of becoming the Prime Minister of the country, he was a dedicated follower of the same BBC,” the Congress leader said.
“...if BBC is a part of a foreign conspiracy, why did you raid Dainik Bhaskar, NewsClick, Newslaundry, NDTV, The Wire, The Quint, the list is endless. Were they all part of a foreign conspiracy? And if everybody is a part of a foreign conspiracy, where is your foreign policy?” asked Mr. Khera.
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