‘Close the Congress shop’: BJP tears into Rahul Gandhi over NYT report on NewsClick

Hours after Rahul Gandhi was reinstated as a Member of Parliament, the BJP unleashed an attack on the Congress leader for pushing China’s agenda and defending the media portal Newsclick. This comes after a New York Times report alleged that millionaire Neville Roy Singham, who worked closely with the Chinese government media and financed its propaganda worldwide, had also financed NewsClick.  

The ruling BJP also accused the Congress of defending NewsClick during an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate back in 2021. 

“Money from China came into NewsClick. An environment was created against the government using Chinese funds,” BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said in the parliament today. He also accused China of bailing Congress out on multiple occasions between 2005 and 2015. The BJP also said that Gandhi met the Chinese ambassador in the midst of the Doklam standoff. 

“Rahul's hate shop is full of Chinese goods. Congress party's policy is to break India. The Election Commission of the Government of India should investigate the Chinese funding of the Congress party and close the Congress shop,” he said in a tweet. 

Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, “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. Much before NYT, India has long been telling the world that NewsClick is a dangerous global web of Chinese propaganda.” 

“Supported by like-minded forces, Neville has been furthering a dubious anti-India agenda. Way back in the year 2021, when India’s law enforcement agencies initiated an inquiry against NewsClick based on strong evidence of money laundering, the Congress and the entire Left-Liberal ecosystem came to defend it. It is natural for the Congress to defend Neville and NewsClick because national interest never matters to its leadership. Isn't it the same Congress Party that signed an MoU with the CPC in the year 2008 to promote Chinese interest in India and allegedly accepted donations for the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) from the Chinese embassy? The UPA may change its name a thousand times. People are aware that the nation will not be safe in the hands of GHAMANDIA gathbandhan,” he said. 

In a press conference, Thakur said that funding for NewsClick came through Neville Roy Singham but their “salesmen were some people from India”. 

The BJP leader alleged that Congress defended NewsClick in 2021 when India’s law enforcement agencies initiated an inquiry against the website on allegations of money laundering.

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya said, “‘Chinese prince' and 'Chinese journalists' are hollowing the country from inside like termites. Recognize them.” He also said in a separate post that two years after the ED raided the promoters of NewsClick, NYT has confirmed that the website was a “dangerous tool of the Communist Party of China”. 

“The other more rotten and sinister aspect of the saga is the concerted support that the Chinese funded anti-India operation of NewsClick received from a section of the Left leaning media in India,” said Malviya. 

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, in a press conference, said that platforms like NewsClick put out narratives that Rahul Gandhi repeats abroad, including things like “democracy is under danger, judiciary is compromised, EVMs are compromised”. This is a complex conspiracy, said Chandrasekhar, and a network of operators who are opposed to India’s rise. 

In February 2021, the ED had conducted searches at multiple premises linked to NewsClick in connection with a money laundering probe. Eight premises were raided linked to the site and its promoters, including South Delhi's Saidulajab, Gurgaon, and other areas. The action was taken as per provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). They said the probe is linked to some suspect foreign funding and the role of a "defunct company" shut for about two years that was allegedly used to transact funds worth over Rs 30 crore. NewsClick is founded by Prabir Purkayastha, who is also the Editor-in-Chief. 

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