BBC neutrality a farce: BJP digs up 1991 Man Of The Year snub to LK Advani

BBC's neutrality is a farce, said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell national convenor Amit Malviya on Tuesday in yet another condemnation of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Malviya retweeted a post shared by a handle called indianhistorypics which claimed the BBC did not give the Man Of The Year award to veteran BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani even though he won the competition with 'over double the votes of his closest rival'.  

The tweet from indianhistorypics cites a newspaper report which in turn cites a The Times report that purportedly claims the BBC rejected LK Advani's nomination for 'Man Of The Year' award because it thought the votes were the result of an "orchestrated campaign.  

“In 1991 BBC Did Not Give ' Man of The Year' Award to Mr. Lal Krishna Advani Despite Being The Winner of The Competition . Advani Ji Got Double The Number of Votes of His Closest Rival. Even The Times Newspaper of England Criticized The BBC,” tweeted indianhistorypics.  

BBC’s neutrality is a farce. https://t.co/S8WXiJOG5b

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya)

Lal Krishna Advani, 95, is one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party. A longtime member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Advani rose to prominence following the Emergency and further rose as a central figure of Indian politics when he embarked on a Rath Yatra 1990. Eventually, LK Advani became the Home Minister and later the Deputy Prime Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, the first non-Congress government in independent India to ever complete a full term. LK Advani was also the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in 2009.    

Why is BBC facing public ire? 

The BBC lately faced massive public outrage after it decided to suspend Gary Lineker, one of English football's biggest names and reportedly the corporation's highest-paid television presenter after he compared the UK government's language on migrants to that used in Nazi Germany. 

Facing public ire, BBC later had to reverse its decision on Monday. “Gary is a valued part of the BBC and I know how much the BBC means to Gary, and I look forward to him presenting our coverage this coming weekend,” BBC director general Tim Davie said.

Acknowledging the withdrawal of his suspension, Linekar tweeted: "After a surreal few days, I’m delighted that we have navigated a way through this. I want to thank you all for the incredible support, particularly my colleagues at BBC Sport, for the remarkable show of solidarity. Football is a team game but their backing was overwhelming." 

After a surreal few days, I’m delighted that we have navigated a way through this. I want to thank you all for the incredible support, particularly my colleagues at BBC Sport, for the remarkable show of solidarity. Football is a team game but their backing was overwhelming. 1/4

— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker)

Income Tax surveys at BBC India offices 

The outrage over Lineker follows Income Tax surveys at BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai. "The Income Tax authorities conducted a survey on BBC premises in Delhi, in view of the BBC's deliberate non-compliance with the Transfer Pricing Rules and its vast diversion of profits," an I-T department statement said.  

In the statement, the IT department also clarified that the exercise conducted by the tax authorities is called “survey”, not search/raid as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act and that 'such surveys are routinely conducted and are not to be confused to be in the nature of a search/raid'.

BBC releases 'propaganda' documentary 

The British Broadcasting Corporation released a documentary titled India:The Modi Question, a two-part series that deals with the 2002 Gujarat riots. The docuseries has been described as a propaganda piece by many in India, including members of the government. Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, described the docuseries as: "A propaganda piece designed to push a particular discredited narrative". "The bias, the lack of objectivity, and a continuing colonial mindset, is blatantly visible," he added.