The ties of the Indian National Congress and foreign powers keep coming to the forefront from time to time. And yet again, the links of Indian National Congress and notorious out of India elements have come to light. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has pointed fingers at the former Congress President and claimed that she is linked to an organization that is heavily financed by the George Soros Foundation, which has supported the notion of Kashmir as an independent entity.
BJP through its official twitter handle on the 8th of December posted a series of threads where it showcased the links Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party have with George Soros, the notorious Hungarian-American businessmen who has a reputation of undermining stable democracies and funding anti-state elements in order to push the goal. BJP in the social media post stated that Sonia Gandhi, as co-president of the Forum of the Democratic Leaders in Asia Pacific (FDL-AP) Foundation, was associated with an organisation funded by George Soros. “FDL-AP has expressed views treating Kashmir as a separate entity,” the party stated, adding that this indicates the influence of foreign entities in Indian politics.
The ruling party also claimed that the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, chaired by Sonia Gandhi, partnered with the George Soros Foundation, further showcasing the impact of foreign funding on Indian institutions. BJP put forth the picture of Salil Shetty, the Vice President of the Soros-funded Open Society Foundation where he could be seen participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra with Rahul Gandhi which provides strength to the argument of Congress having ties with George Soros group.
The saffron party also highlighted the live telecast of Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s press conference against the Adani Group by Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). It must be noted that OCCRP has US links which was revealed a couple of days ago. On 2nd of December , the French newspaper, ‘Mediapart’ in its investigative piece, drew some shocking revelations against the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). Mediapart revealed that OCCRP which claims itself as being an independent body has hidden its ties with the United States and the organisation has a good hold upon the funding from the US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Mediapart uncovered that nearly half of OCCRP’s funding comes from US institutions like the Department of State and USAID. These agencies have been instrumental in OCCRP’s creation, with initial support from the US Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. It noted “While the OCCRP presents itself as being totally independent, its management have placed it in a position of structural dependence upon the US government, as revealed in this investigation,”
The BJP also highlighted Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s public acknowledgment of George Soros as an “old friend” in a twitter post as further evidence of their connections.
Not only with the US and the George Soros group, the Indian National Congress has also been found to have close ties with China. In 2008, during the UPA-1 tenure, the Congress Party signed an MoU with the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing, fostering high-level information exchange and cooperation. This agreement also allowed both parties to consult on bilateral, regional, and international issues. The MoU surfaced amidst strained relations between Congress and India’s Left parties. Congress’s ties with China came to limelight during the 2017 Doklam standoff when Rahul Gandhi was seen secretly meeting Chinese officials. In 2020, revelations about the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) receiving over ₹1 crore from the Chinese government since 2006 raised eyebrows.
