Disappointing, says US, in response to BJP’s ‘destabilise-India, target-PM’ charge
DAYS after the BJP accused the US State Department of trying to "destabilise India” through part funding a news portal that, it said, had “targeted” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the US Embassy in New Delhi said Saturday that it is “disappointing that the ruling party in India would make these kinds of accusations”. “The US government works with independent organisations on programming that supports professional development and capacity building training for journalists,” a spokesperson of the US Embassy said, “This programming does not influence the editorial decisions or direction of these organisations… The United States has long been a champion of media freedom around the world. A free and independent press is an essential component of any democracy, enabling informed and constructive debate and holding those in power accountable.” This comes after BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, at a press conference, claimed that elements in the US “deep state” had colluded with a group of journalists and with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to put a spoke in the wheel of India's growth story with unsubstantiated allegations without a "shred of evidence". He suggested that all this is in conjunction with the US State Department. Patra’s remarks came days after the US Department of Justice and market regulator Securities and Exchanges Commission filed indictments in US courts implicating Gautam Adani, his nephew, and his group for bribery, exchange fraud and other alleged violations of US law. The BJP also slammed Gandhi for citing reports by an overseas web portal – the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) – which, it said, "singularly focused" on targeting the Adani Group and its alleged closeness to the government to undermine PM Modi with "baseless" allegations. The BJP spokesperson cited a report by French portal Mediapart that OCCRP was funded by the US Agency for International Development and "other deep state figures" like billionaire investor George Soros. "The deep state had a clear objective to destabilise India by targeting Prime Minister Modi," the BJP said. It added, "It has always been the US State Department behind this agenda… OCCRP has served as a media tool for carrying out a deep state agenda." "A French investigative media group has revealed that 50% of OCCRP's funding comes directly from the US State Department," Patra said. The BJP spokesperson then accused Rahul of being a "traitor of the highest order". He also said that "some agencies of America" and Soros make a "dangerous triangle trying to destabilise India". Patra's allegations were echoed by his party colleague Nishikant Dubey in Parliament who accused the Congress of "conspiring with foreign forces" to derail “India’s success story” because of their "hatred" for Modi. In Rajya Sabha, MP Sudhanshu Trivedi raised the issue with BJP leaders alleging that the Congress had stalled Parliament on the basis of reports published by OCCRP, including on the Pegasus spying row, the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines developed in India, and the Hindenburg report against the Adani group. Dubey said many of these media reports coincided with Parliament sessions in India. He called for Gandhi to be investigated for meeting with Soros, who he claimed "routinely conspires to derail economies of other countries", and American lawmakers like Ilhan Omar, who have strongly opposed Modi and his administration. "The Congress must answer... what transpired in meetings with those who have a history of peddling anti-India agenda on Rahul Gandhi's foreign tours," he said. As Trivedi finished his address, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said he had raised a serious issue and Opposition MPs would be allowed to present their views. “We cannot allow the largest democracy to be made dysfunctional by the deep state,” he said, even as the Opposition MPs protested. Calling it the "most unfortunate incident”, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor slammed Dubey and his "outrageous statement”. "Number 1, you cannot attack people in a defamatory manner. Number 2, you cannot take anyone's name without giving them notice in writing in advance, and number 3, you cannot assault parliamentary privilege. He violated all those three rules and he was allowed to go on speaking and ranting for quite some time... so we objected to that. The House was initially adjourned. We went to see the Speaker and we said this has to be expunged from the record. The person must apologise," Tharoor said. Congress leaders said that all this was a cover for “agents of Adani” to rush to his defence in the face of a range of allegations of corruption and wrongdoing by the business group. In a statement, OCCRP denied the allegations about its funding and the suggestion “that we are influenced by our donors”. OCCRP also said that being a donor-funded organisation, it had built safeguards into its editorial process and has always been open about its funders. “All of these documents are publicly available,” the statement said. Incidentally, last week, the MEA had underlined India’s partnership with the US. Asked to comment on Gandhi’s recent remarks at a Maharashtra poll rally that Modi was losing his memory like a former United States president (a reference to Joe Biden), the MEA spokesperson said, “India shares a multi-faceted partnership with the United States and this partnership has been built over years of perseverance, togetherness, mutual respect and commitment by both sides. We see such remarks as unfortunate and they’re not in keeping with the warm and friendly ties with the United States and do not represent the position of the Government of India.” The latest controversy also comes amid US indictments in the case against an Indian official for an alleged assassination plot against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Khalistani activist in the US. For the latest news from across India, Political updates, Explainers, Sports News, Opinion, Entertainment Updates and more Top News, visit Indian Express. Subscribe to our award-winning Newsletter Download our App here Android & iOS