On a day when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi returned to the Lok Sabha, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Union Ministers Anurag Thakur and Rajeev Chandrashekhar cited a report in The New York Times to accuse the Opposition of being hand in glove with a foreign government and a media outlet to peddle influence in India.
In remarks in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Dubey said the article in the newspaper detailed how the news website NewsClick had received ₹38 crore in funding and that money had been used to create an “anti-India” atmosphere. He also accused the Opposition of stoking that atmosphere and that it too had received funding from the Chinese government. Significantly, the Lok Sabha Secretariat had first expunged some parts of Mr. Dubey’s speech which were later reinstated.
The Congress took umbrage at the remarks with party leader Manickam Tagore filing a privilege notice against Mr. Dubey. Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary not only raised the issue on the floor of the House but also lodged a formal complaint with Speaker Om Birla, asking his office to investigate how an MP was allowed to speak at a time meant for tabling of official papers and make libellous charges without giving advance notice.
Outside Parliament, Information and Broadcasting Minister Mr. Anurag Thakur and Information Technology Minister Mr. Rajeev Chandrashekhar, however, did not mince words in drawing connections between Chinese firms and the funding of the news website “NewsClick” and the support the website got from the Opposition parties when it was raided by the Enforcement Directorate in 2021, describing the link as an “anti-India umblical cord”.
“Chinese goods are being sold in Rahul ji’s fake ‘Mohabbat ki Dukan’,” said Mr. Thakur. “If you see the funding network of NewsClick, it was funded by a foreigner Neville Roy Singham and he gets funds from China. This Neville Roy Singham has direct contact with the propaganda arm of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese media company Maku Group,” he said.
“There is a remarkable similarity in misinformation, lies and hatred spread by platforms like NewsClick and the false narratives echoed blandly by Rahul Gandhi,” said Mr. Chandrashekhar.
NewsClick’s reaction
The organisation in the eye of the storm, NewsClick, released an “initial statement” on the issue, terming itself an “independent news organisation.”
“The issues to which your questions relate are sub judice before courts in India. We respect the sanctity of the legal process and do not intend to indulge in a media trial. That said, we wish to confirm that the allegations being made against us by certain political actors and sections of the media are misleading, unfounded and without basis in fact or law. We are an independent news organisation, and any allegations that we function as a mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China or other interests are false. We reiterate our faith in the Indian courts and are confident that NewsClick has, and continues to function in accordance with Indian law,” said the statement.
