Chinese Propaganda Funding: Congress, China, and NewsClick are part of one umbilical cord: I&B Minister

An investigation by the New York Times has unearthed a lavishly funded network of Chinese Propaganda at the behest of American billionaire Neville Roy Singham. However, India raised its concerns about NewsClick back in 2021. Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday said that Congress, China and Newsclick are part of one umbilical cord.

"For years, India was telling the world that NewsClick is part of a conspiracy. Congress, China, and NewsClick are part of one umbilical cord. We exposed NewsClick in 2021, how they were part of the anti-India, Break India campaign, supported by the Congress. Opposition is promoting anti-India agenda. Congress and China and NewsClick are part of this anti-India agenda," the I&B Minister said.

How an American billionaire pushed propaganda for China in India

"Rahul Gandhi's 'Nakli Mohabbat Ki Dukaan' Chinese goods can be seen clearly. His love for China can be seen. They were running an anti-India agenda," he said, adding, "Was Congress receiving funding from China? Why did they defend Newsclick? Their love for China & hate for our motherland is shocking. 
NewsClick and Congress are exposed now. The party has always stood with 'Tukde Tukde' gang. Our battle against misinformation will continue. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi went to China to watch a particular game but instead ended up playing a nefarious game against India." 

Thakur had on Sunday taken to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to state that 'well before the acknowledgement from NYT, India had consistently warned about NewsClick's role as a hazardous web of Chinese propaganda. Backed by allied influences, Neville Roy Singham has actively advanced a questionable anti-India narrative.

Going back to 2021, when India's law enforcement agencies initiated an investigation into NewsClick based on substantial evidence of money laundering, the Congress party and the entire Left-Liberal establishment rushed to its defence, he wrote, adding that this inclination of the Congress to stand by Neville and NewsClick aligns with its track record of not prioritizing national interests.

He recalled how the same Congress Party entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the CPC back in 2008 to advocate for Chinese interests within India.  Additionally, there have been allegations of the Congress accepting donations from the Chinese embassy for the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF), he said.

Other BJP leaders sought to target the "Left-leaning media" who stood up to oppose the crackdown on the anti-India operation. 

BJP leader Amit Malviya said in an X post, "Two years after ED raided the promoters of dubious website NewsClick.in, the trash NYT, which thrives on India bashing, confirms that it was a dangerous tool of the Communist Party of China."

"But that is only part of the story. 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. It couldn’t have been a mere coincidence that those who stood up and spoke are equally compromised as journalists. You have to only look around to see who the ‘wolves in sheep's clothing’ are… Shall we name them," he asked

"The question however that confronts us as a democracy: how do we identify and isolate those, who are willing collaborators of India’s enemies? How do we ensure that no one is using their pen to undermine the democratic choices we make as citizens of India? How do we shred the web of lies and fake propaganda spread by these paid mercenaries," the BJP IT cell chief added.