BJP Targets Congress Over Report Alleging China Links To NewsClick

In a fiery exchange within Parliament today, the BJP launched a scathing attack on the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, alleging the party's ties to Chinese funding. This came in response to a recent explosive report by The New York Times, which claimed that media portal Newsclick, backed by tech magnate Neville Roy Singham, was advancing China's agenda. The BJP further accused the Congress of shielding Newsclick during a 2021 Enforcement Directorate investigation into its financial sources.

The New York Times' investigative report revealed, "In New Delhi, corporate filings show, Singham's network financed a news site, NewsClick, that sprinkled its coverage with Chinese government talking points." The report delved into Singham's central role in a tightly-knit web of activist groups, non-profit organizations, shell companies, all interconnected with Beijing and Chinese propaganda.

In Parliament, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey asserted, "Money from China came into NewsClick. An environment was created against the government using Chinese funds." He alleged that China had supported Congress multiple times between 2005 and 2015. Dubey also targeted Rahul Gandhi, asserting that during the Doklam border standoff, the Congress leader met the Chinese ambassador in Delhi.

Taking to Twitter, Dubey shared a video of his parliamentary speech, stating, "The Congress party's policy is to break India... the Election Commission should investigate the Chinese funding of the Congress party and close the Congress's shop."

Promptly responding to Dubey's remarks, Congress leader and MP Adhir Ranjan Choudhary wrote a letter to Speaker Om Birla, urging the removal of Dubey's comments from the parliamentary records. Choudhary demanded an inquiry into how such allegations were allowed on record.

Earlier, Minister for Information and Technology Anurag Thakur remarked, "Even newspapers like 'The New York Times' are now admitting that Neville Roy Singham and his NewsClick are dangerous tools of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and promoting China's political agenda across the world."

Thakur added, "Much before NYT, India has long been telling the world that NewsClick is a dangerous global web of Chinese propaganda." He accused NewsClick's founder, Neville, of pursuing an anti-India agenda, backed by like-minded forces.

Alleging that Congress defended NewsClick in 2021 amid money laundering allegations, Thakur noted, "National interest never matters to its leadership." He reminded that the Congress had previously signed an MoU with the CPC in 2008 and allegedly accepted donations from the Chinese embassy for the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF).

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya also condemned the Congress, highlighting that NYT's report confirmed the dangerous role of NewsClick and its alignment with the Communist Party of China. He dubbed Congress as "wolves in sheep's clothing."

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar criticised Rahul Gandhi's rhetoric, stating that his narrative echoed platforms like NewsClick, which he claimed spread disinformation about India's democracy.