“Congress, China…part of one umbilical cord,” Anurag Thakur targets Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi , August 7,2023: Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday attacked the Congress party alleging that it and other parties had supported the NewsClick platform when it was investigated by central agencies.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday, slammed the Congress party for supporting the NewsClick portal, after a report highlighted Chinese funding to the platform aimed at spreading Beijing’s propaganda.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital today, Thakur also alleged that China had signed an agreement with the Congress party and made payments to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation during the regime of the UPA.
US-based newspaper The New York Times had in a recent report stated that one person identified as Neville Roy Singham by the daily as a socialist benefactor of far-left causes, has worked closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing the Chinese propaganda worldwide.
The Union Minister said, “Congress, China and NewsClick are all part of an umbilical cord. Chinese products are clearly visible in Rahul Gandhi’s fake ‘Mohabbat ki Dukaan’. His love for China can be seen. Their purpose was to run an ‘anti-India’ and ‘Break India’ agenda”.
“Neville Roy Singham made the funding to NewsClick, and he was himself being funded by China. Neville Roy is in direct contact with the propaganda arm of the Chinese propaganda party. And these facts have been exposed by those newspapers which are highly praised by the Congress party,” Thakur said.
The Union Minister further alleged that when the BJP-led Centre was taking action against NewsClick, Congress and other Opposition parties had come out in its support.
“In 2021, we exposed NewsClick as to how foreign propaganda is used against India. But, these Opposition leaders came in support of NewsClick and alleged that the Centre is curbing the freedom of the press. Although, Chinese companies were funding NewsClick through Mogul Neville Roy Singham their salesmen were some people from India, who came in their support when action was taken against them. They tried to spread the Chinese agenda and mislead the Indian public through false propaganda. They spread ‘fake news’ in the name of ‘free news’,” Thakur said.