The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, 7 August, attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a day after a report by The New York Times alleged links between tech mogul Neville Roy Singham, who finances the Indian news website NewsClick, and the Communist Party of China (CCP).
"We have been saying this about NewsClick. This is a propaganda to break India. This mohabbat ki dukan has China ka samaan,” Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur said during a press conference on Monday.
The New York Times report claimed that Singham's networks fueled disinformation and influenced mainstream narratives by promoting pro-China messages.
“In India, NewsClick was raided for five days. I will share all the details of the funding today. Singham funded NewsClick. And he is being funded by China and this is told by a newspaper which was praised by the Congress in the past,” Thakur added.
He further said that the the "reality" of Congress, China, and NewsClick had been "exposed."
Union Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who was also a part of the press conference, said:
"These narratives that are put out by platforms like NewsClick and other platforms that are operating in concert are echoed almost blandly in a similar fashion by this political leader, Rahul Gandhi, who goes abroad and says exactly the same things: democracy is under danger, judiciary is compromised, EVMs are compromised. This is exactly the narrative that these platforms put out. This is a complex conspiracy. This is a network of operators being funded, being fanned by vested interests outside the country, who are opposed to India's rise."
NewsClick Dismisses Allegations as 'False and Misleading'
In response to allegations in The New York Times report that NewsClick is part of a global network used to spread Chinese state propaganda, the organisation said, "The allegations being made against us by certain political actors and sections of the media are unfounded and without basis in fact or law. Newsclick is an independent news organisation, and any insinuation that we function as a mouth-piece of the Communist Party of China or other interests is false."
"Over the past 12 hours, various false and misleading allegations have been levelled against Newsclick which pertain to matters that are currently sub judice before courts in India. We respect the sanctity of the legal process and do not intend to indulge in a media trial," the statement mailed to The Quint read.
"Notably, the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi has, having found a prima facie case in favour of Newsclick, granted interim protection from arrest to various officials of the company. Further, the Hon'ble Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Special Acts), Delhi, has dismissed a complaint filed by the income tax authorities against Newsclick, finding the same to be without merit," it added.
Earlier, Thakur had taken to X (formerly Twitter) to share the article by The New York Times on the issue.
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