BBC controversy: Nealy three months after the Income Tax sleuths “raided” the offices of BBC in Delhi, British High Commissioner Alex Ellis on Wednesday downplayed the motion and underscored, ‘Good pals may also disagree’.
Speaking at the Ananta Centre in the nationwide capital, he underlined that he would by no means share particulars about his discussions with the Indian authorities.
“The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a globally respected institution and broadcaster whose news material I consume every day. Secondly, all organisations have to obey the law of India. BBC is talking to Indian authorities about that,” Ellis mentioned.
“It is okay to disagree sometimes”
“Certainly, I would never share all the things that I discussed with the Indian authorities. But good friends can also disagree. I think that it is okay to disagree sometimes,” the British High Commissioner mentioned, making it clear that he was making a basic level.
In February, BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai had been raided by Income Tax officers who claimed to have detected a number of irregularities, together with non-payment of tax on sure remittances that weren’t disclosed as earnings in India.
London assault
On the assault on the Indian High Commission in London, Ellis described it as a “symptom of extremism” which was a “risk” in any nation.
“There is no disagreement. What happened at the Indian High Commission is not okay. It is a symptom of extremism. Overall extremism is a risk in any country,” he mentioned.
The British High Commissioner additional mentioned that he fully understood the anger in India over the vandalism at the High Commission and he could be equally agitated if it occurred to the British High Commission.
Pro-Khalistani protestors tried to vandalise the Indian High Commission in London and pulled down the nationwide flag whereas holding protests exterior the High Commission complicated on March 19. It occurred a day after the
Punjab Police launched a crackdown in opposition to radical preacher Amritpal Singh in Punjab.
Ellis added that the UK-India relationship is “complex” due to its colonial historical past and that there’ll all the time be “bumps” which had been a part of the complexity and richness.
(With inputs from PTI)
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