The Opposition parties have condemned the raids at the BBC offices and accused the government of trying to intimidate the voices of criticism.

“Time and again, there has been an assault on the freedom of the press under the Modi government. This is done with brazen and unapologetic vengeance to strangulate remotely critical voices. No democracy can survive if institutions are used to attack the Opposition and the media. People will resist this,” said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

The CPI-M and CPI too condemned the raids. “This is a blatant attempt to intimidate and harass the television channel for having telecast the documentary, ‘The Modi Question’…This coercive action will reinforce internationally the image of the Modi government as an authoritarian regime which seeks to suppress media criticism,” a CPM statement said.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav) president Uddhav Thackeray said any assault on the media should be opposed and that the country’s freedom was at stake.

“While I’m speaking to you (media), raids are happening on the BBC. The media is one of the pillars of democracy. Under which norms of democracy does it fit to raid a media company? They (government) are trying to give the message that we will do whatever we want but you should not say anything,” Thackeray told reporters after welcoming Muslim cadres into the party.

Thackeray said the Modi government was using nationalism to become more dictatorial. “I have repeatedly said that earlier we had fought for the independence of the country. Now, we have to fight another battle — to safeguard this independence…They are using words like Vande Bharat, Bharat Mata but in effect are trying to turn the country into a slave.”