I-T Dept raids Dainik Bhaskar, Bharat Samachar; Opposition calls it attempt to muzzle media

Simultaneous searches in connection with Dainik Bhaskar, which brings out newspaper editions in Hindi and Gujarati, were conducted in various cities

The Income Tax Department on Thursday conducted raids at the premises of Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Samachar, whose coverage was critical on Narendra Modi government's Covid-19 management, in multiple cities on charges of tax evasion, with the Opposition calling it an attempt to "scare and muzzle" media.

Simultaneous searches in connection with Dainik Bhaskar, which has presence across 12 states of the country and brings out 65 editions and 211 sub-editions in Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi, were conducted in Bhopal, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Noida and some other locations in the country. It included residences of its promoters in Bhopal.

In Ahmedabad where it publishes Gujarati daily 'Divya Bhaskar', the office located on SG Highway at Makarba was raided by over a dozen I-T officers early morning. The group also has 30 radio stations in seven states and has an online presence with six web portals and four mobile phone apps.

Dainik Bhaskar said the raids came as it put out the "true picture of the government's inefficiency before the country during the second wave of Covid-19".

Bharat Samachar, a Lucknow-based news channel, said raids were conducted at its office, residences of Editor-in-Chief Brijesh Mishra and state head Virendra Singh and employees.

Even as the government defended the raids, a number of Opposition leaders -- from Congress, CPI(M), CPI, RJD, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress and AAP among others -- criticised the move while MPs attempted to raise the issue in Rajya Sabha. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu did not allow it saying he has not received any notice on it.

Opposition Chief Ministers like Ashok Gehlot (Rajasthan), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal) and Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi) among others were vocal against the raids and said the "message was clear" that the government was unhappy with their coverage on the "mishandling" of Covid-19.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the agencies were doing their work and there was no interference in it. "Agencies are doing their own work and there is no interference in them...One should take complete information and sometimes many issues come up that are far from truth," he said.

At a press conference, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and senior MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "the raids highlights the dangerous, dismissive, and draconian nature of the BJP government. How should we define whatever happened today? There are many words - totalitarianism, tyranny, dictatorship, fascism, authoritarianism, autocracy, despotism, absolutism, caesarism, and so on and so forth."

Gehlot said the raids were a "brazen attempt to suppress the voice of the media. The Modi government cannot tolerate even an iota of criticism. Due to its fascist mentality, the BJP doesn't want to see the truth in a democratic setup. By indulging in such actions and gagging the media, the Modi government wants to convey the message that if the media doesn't become Godi-Media then it's voice will be suppressed."

Mamata described the raids as a "brutal attempt to stifle democracy" and that "Dainik Bhaskar bravely reported the way Narendra Modi- ji mishandled the entire Covid-19 crisis and led the country to its most horrifying days amid a raging pandemic."

"I strongly condemn this vindictive act that aims to suppress voices that bring out the truth. It's a grave violation that undermines the very principles of democracy. Urging everyone in the Media to stay strong. Together we shall never let the autocratic forces succeed!" she tweeted.

Demanding that the raids should be stopped immediately, Kejriwal said it was an "attempt to scare" the media and the message is "clear" that those who "speak against the BJP government will not be spared". He said such thinking is "very dangerous" and everyone should "raise their voice" against it.

CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury tweeted, "Modi government's raid raj won't work. Trying to scare and muzzle the truth from surfacing. But like the dead bodies floating in the Ganga, the Modi government cannot hide. The misuse of central agencies for intimidation is condemnable."

Congress' Rajya Sabha Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "through its reporting Dainik Bhaskar has exposed the Modi regime’s monumental mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is now paying the price. An undeclared emergency as Arun Shourie has said — this is a Modified Emergency."

Senior Congress MP Digvijaya Singh said it was "Modi-Shah's attack on journalism" and their "only weapon is IT ED CBI".

Senior Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, "there was a time when frank, free and fearless reporting was admired, and could intimidate wrongdoers in govts. Now the intimidation comes from the government and dissimulation, discretion and defanging are the new watchwords. India needs papers like Dainik Bhaskar to flourish. I stand with them."