On Saturday, The New York Times published an article, stating the ties of an American businessman Neville Roy Singham with the Chinese government and his financial support to the controversial news portal NewsClick.

The New York Times, in its investigative report, said, “In New Delhi, corporate filings show, Singham’s network financed a news site, NewsClick, that sprinkled its coverage with Chinese government talking points”.

According to the report, Singham is funding several news publications across the world (including India) to peddle Chinese propaganda. “What is less known, and is hidden amid a tangle of nonprofit groups and shell companies, is that Mr. Singham works closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda worldwide,” the article stated.

After the report came, the BJP attacked the Congress on Monday, alleging Chinese funding for the party. The BJP also accused Congress of defending Newsclick during an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2021 into its funding.

“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,” Union Minister for Information and Technology Anurag Thakur posted on X, earlier known as Twitter.

“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?” he added.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey raised the issue in parliament. Citing the NYT report in the Lok Sabha, Dubey said, “Chinese goods are being sold at Rahul Gandhi’s nafrat ki dukaan (hate shop)…The New York Times has published an interesting report…About ₹38 crores have been received by organisations such as NewsClick.”