‘Rahul Gandhi traitor of highest order,’ says BJP, accuses US State Dept of trying to ‘destabilise’ India

In a first, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the United States’ State Department of making attempts to “destabilise India”, saying the US “deep state” was working to “target” Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The saffron party also emphasised that the US State Department was always “behind this agenda”.

The party also claimed a link between Rahul Gandhi and international forces, including an investigative media platform, trying to destabilise India and that the Congress leader was a “traitor of the highest order”.

BJP MPs K Laxman and Sambit Patra cited a report in the French media outlet ‘Mediapart’ to target Rahul Gandhi after the ruling party raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, which was adjourned amid noisy interventions by both sides.

Sambit Patra alleged that billionaire investor George Soros, US-based agencies, the investigative media platform Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and Gandhi form a “dangerous” triangle aimed at destabilising India and inciting public discontent to force a regime change.

“I have no hesitation in saying he [Gandhi] is a traitor of the highest order,” Sambit Patra said.

Referring to the ‘Mediapart’ report, the BJP spokesperson said the OCCRP has over 50 media partners across several continents and depends massively on Soros and “deep state” agencies in the US to fund its work. “If they are getting 70 per cent of their resources from one source, then they cannot be neutral,” he said. He added that Rahul Gandhi held press conferences to target PM Modi-led government based on OCCRP’s reports.

Back in July 2021, Rahul Gandhi attacked the BJP-led government after the OCCRP report that Brazil had cancelled a USD 324 million order for Covaxin, a Covid vaccine prepared by a private Indian firm. It was an attempt to malign India and the Congress leader held the press conference based on the report even though the order was cancelled in June, he added.

Patra stated that Rahul Gandhi had previously criticized the government over the Pegasus issue, following an OCCRP report. “OCCRP and Rahul Gandhi are two bodies and one soul,” he said.