New Delhi: British foreign minister James Cleverly today, March 1, raised the issue of Income Tax officials’ surveys at the offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation in New Delhi and Mumbai, during a bilateral meeting with India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar. India has reportedly responded with the line that all entities within the country must comply with Indian laws.
This is the first time that the UK government has publicly mentioned the surveys – Cleverly noted that he mentioned the surveys in an interview. There have earlier been parliamentary debates on it.
Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said that the UK foreign secretary did bring up the BBC tax issue with the external affairs minister today. “He was firmly told that all entities operating in India must comply fully with relevant laws and regulations,” the source said.
The searches came after the Narendra Modi government responded with a social media block to a documentary made by BBC about Prime Minister Modi’s role during the Gujarat riots of 2002. The government also called it a “propaganda” piece.