Rahul Gandhi Speaks To Indian Journalists In London, Says 'If BBC Stops Writing Against Modi Govt...'

New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday (March 4, 2023) interacted with the Indian Journalists' Association (IJA) in London and continued his attack on the Narendra Modi-led government. Speaking at the India Insights event, Gandhi alleged that the recent tax survey action against the BBC was an example of the "suppression of voice across the country" and said that this is why he undertook the 4,000 km long 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' as an expression of voice against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's attempt to silence the country. The former Congress president, who is in the UK on a week-long tour, also said that the structures of Indian democracy are under "brutal attack".

"The reason the yatra became necessary is because the structures of our democracy are under brutal attack," Gandhi said. 

"The media, the institutional frameworks, judiciary, Parliament is all under attack and we were finding it very difficult to put the voice of the people through the normal channels," he added.

"The BBC has found out about it now, but it has been going on in India for the last nine years non-stop. Everybody knows that journalists are intimidated, they are attacked and threatened. The journalists who toe the line of the government are rewarded. So, it's part of a pattern and I wouldn't expect anything different. If the BBC stops writing against the government, everything will go back to normal. All the cases will disappear," he said.

Earlier last month, the Income Tax department conducted survey operations at the BBC's offices in Delhi and Mumbai as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion.

The tax scrutiny was conducted weeks after the UK-headquartered British Broadcasting Corporation aired a two-part documentary -- "India: The Modi Question" -- on the prime minister and the 2002 Gujarat riots.

India dismissed the documentary as a "propaganda piece" saying it was designed to push a particular "discredited narrative".

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi also expressed regret that democratic parts of the world, including the US and Europe, have failed to notice that a "large chunk of democracy has come undone:.

"The BJP wants India to be silent. They want it to be quiet" because they want to be able to take what is India's and give it to their close friends. That's the idea, to distract the population and then hand over India's wealth to three, four, five people," the Congress leader said.

Asked about the Congress and Opposition plans for the next general election, Rahul said the battle at the polls is not just between political parties but also against institutions as there is "no level playing field" in Indian politics.

"There are conversations going on between the Opposition parties, I am aware of many of them. The basic idea that the RSS and the BJP need to be fought and defeated is deeply entrenched in the minds of the Opposition. There's no question about that," the Wayanad MP said.

"There are tactical issues that require discussions, but it's important to understand that the Opposition in India is no longer fighting a political party. We're fighting the institutional structure of India now; the BJP and RSS which have captured almost all of India's institutions. So, the idea of a level playing field doesn't exist because the institutions aren't neutral," Rahul Gandhi stated.

His earlier comments at Cambridge University that Indian democracy is under attack and several politicians, including himself, are under surveillance, had invited sharp reactions from the BJP that accused him of maligning the country's image on foreign soil after facing successive electoral setbacks.