Responding to Income Tax Department's 'survey' at BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said that no one is above the law of the country.
Addressing the media in Mumbai, Thakur said, "The Income Tax Department conducts surveys from time to time where irregularities are found and when the survey work is completed, it issues a detailed press note."
Describing the country's agencies as completely autonomous, Thakur said that no one is above the law of the nation, and no one is above the judicial system. Hitting back at those who questioned the intention of the government through this survey, Thakur claimed that the agencies are fully autonomous and one should "let them do their work".
Thakur also said that when this survey work is completed, the department will definitely inform the media about it in detail. Meanwhile, the 'survey' being conducted by the I-T Department at BBC's Delhi and Mumbai offices since Tuesday morning are expected to continue through the night till Wednesday morning, sources aware of the developments said.
I-T officials are said to have seized phones and laptops from the staffers in the broadcaster's offices, according to reports. The 'survey' came weeks after a two-part documentary by the BBC on the 2002 Gujarat riots had created furore across the country.