On the morning of the 3rd of October 2023, several individuals connected to the online portal NewsClick were raided for illicit foreign funds, including from US organisations and Chinese organisations. Several journalists including Sanjay Rajoura, Bhasha Singh, Urmilesh, Prabir Purkayastha, Abhisar Sharma, Aunindyo Chakraborty and Sohail Hashmi. All the journalists raided have links with NewsClick.
As soon as the news of the raids emerged, the usual suspects started crying copious amounts of tears. The trope they used while tweeting leaves nobody surprised – according to them – the raids proved that the freedom of the press was under threat in India.
While the raids were being conducted, the Left ecosystem went on overdrive to pull the wool over people’s eyes and claim that any investigation of individuals who seem to have benefitted from illicit funding from a hostile nation to further propaganda against India was an attack on the free press.
Propagandist Rohini Singh, who fancies herself as a journalist, claimed that the news of the raids indicates that journalism is the greatest crime in India. It is pertinent to note that Rohini Singh’s name had even featured in the Radia Tapes controversy and has been in the habit of pushing not just political propaganda but also blatant fake news.
Journalists raided by the police, laptops and phones taken away because journalism is the biggest crime in new India.
— Rohini Singh (@rohini_sgh) October 3, 2023
Self-proclaimed Muslim journalist from The Wire, who often shields Islamists, furthers fake news and pushes anti-Hindu propaganda, also toed the same line. Arfa Khanum Sherwani tweeted the report from The Wire with the question – “Mother of democracy, anyone?”.
Mother of democracy, anyone ?
— Arfa Khanum Sherwani (@khanumarfa) October 3, 2023
In early morning raids on homes of several journalists, stand-up comics, satirists and commentators, Delhi police has started interrogations in matters “related to terror links” https://t.co/pBw293hvYE
Rajdeep Sardesai, the self-proclaimed vulture who gave a political context to the brutal murder of Prashant Poojari (a Hindu murdered by PFI Jihadis) and expressed his excitement about covering the Parliament terrorist attack, scripted history by getting his tweet right only after 1 edit.
In his tweet, Rajdeep said, “Breaking story this morning: Delhi police special cell raids homes of several journalists/writers associated with Newsclick website. Take away mobiles and laptops.. interrogation on. No warrant/FIR shown yet. Since when did journalists become state ‘enemies’ in a democracy?”
Breaking story this morning: Delhi police special cell raids homes of several journalists/writers associated with Newsclick website. Take away mobiles and laptops.. interrogation on. No warrant/FIR shown yet. Since when did journalists become state ‘enemies’ in a democracy?
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) October 3, 2023
Pratik Sinha, the co-founder of Islamic propaganda outlet AltNews and whose partner dog-whistles against Hindu women on a regular basis, along with trying to whitewash Jihadi crimes, also declared that the government was “crossing all limits”.
How can you target journalists/contributors associated with Newsclick? This Government is crossing all limits.
— Pratik Sinha (@free_thinker) October 3, 2023
It is pertinent to note that all the individuals who are being raided currently have been spreading anti-India propaganda for a very long time. None of them were prosecuted for their opinions and views and the raids are not because the government of India willy nilly decided to prosecute those who are journalists.
The individuals being raided were or are connected to NewsClick which is under scanner for taking money from a hostile nation – China – to further their state propaganda in India and against the sovereignty of India.
An investigation by the New York Times in August 2023 uncovered an ecosystem of activist organisations, non-profits, shell corporations, and their intimate ties to China and Chinese propaganda. Notably, Neville Roy Singham is at the heart of this network. The article read, “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.”
It was highlighted that he has been successful in spreading talking points from the communist administration in nations including India, Brazil, South Africa, and the United States under the guise of progressive advocacy. The report pointed out, “In New Delhi, corporate filings show, Singham’s network financed a news site, NewsClick, that sprinkled its coverage with Chinese government talking points.”
Through this global ecosystem of activists and non-governmental organisations, China, which has been attempting to assert its economic and global might for quite some time, has created a system that covertly promotes the Chinese people and reiterates the official line. It showed how the country has been able to deflect criticism of its violations of human rights from around the world and how its position on global issues is woven into international discourses owing to this network.
Further, even before the New York Times investigation, NewsClick was already under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate in India.
The investigation conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) unveiled that an overseas fund amounting to Rs. 38.05 crores was deceitfully injected into NewsClick over a span of three years. The received funds purportedly found their way to numerous contentious journalists, among them Gautam Navlakha and individuals associated with Teesta Setalvad. Under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted a thorough search at the premises of PPK Newsclick Studio, its affiliated entities, as well as the directors and shareholders (consisting of ten entities) situated in the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR). Throughout the course of the search at that time, foreign currency, documents indicating wrongdoing, and digital proof were confiscated.
Upon meticulous examination of the gathered evidence, it was uncovered that there were dubious transactions involving foreign inward remittances. Specifically, Rs. 9.59 crore was introduced through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and an additional Rs. 28.46 crore was purportedly generated through the export of services. The ED Investigation brought to light that Prabir Purkayastha, the Director of Newsclick, had been acquainted with Neville Roy Singham of Worldwide Media Holdings LLC (Limited Liability Company) since 2017.
During the questioning, Prabir allegedly stated that he had no knowledge about Navielle’s company. After the NYT story, it was proven that Prabir had clearly lied to the investigation agencies in 2021. In fact, even during the ED investigation, Prabir’s lie did not hold.
Based on the digital evidence seized, it was revealed that Prabir, in collaboration with Neville Roy Singham, who is reportedly linked to the Communist Party of China (CPC), had orchestrated a complex scheme. To elaborate, the allegations suggest that Prabir Purkayastha and his associates, in an effort to secure a fund of Rs. 9.59 crores from a Chinese entity with significant emphasis, established a legal façade of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Furthermore, it is claimed that Neville Roy Singham had earlier transferred funds to Prabir under the pretext of consultancy fees, ostensibly to propagate a “leftist ideology”. Both Prabir Purkayastha and the personnel at Newsclick Studio have been unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for the receipt of Rs. 28.46 crore from foreign sources.
The overview of the investigation clearly reveals that NewsClick was accepting illegal funds from abroad and a large part of the fund was in lieu of spreading anti-India commentary. This is the classic example of undermining the sovereignty of a nation and manipulating the people to believe propaganda against their own nation. In a democracy, it is essential that people are allowed to elect their representatives without the interference of foreign powers who wish to undermine national interests. While those like Rajdeep Sardesai and Pratik Sinha cry copious amounts of tears, these elementary facts are pushed under the rug by those who support foreign interference in India’s democracy simply because they don’t like the outcome of the said democracy.
Rajdeep claimed that ‘journalists cannot be considered the enemy of the state’. He is patently wrong. Any individual can be considered an enemy of the state if they have accepted funds from a hostile nation to undermine the democracy of India. In fact, if the law did not take its course for a specific set of individuals (journalists) who are undermining India’s sovereignty simply because of what they do for a living (journalism – apparently), that would be the very definition of a dysfunctional democracy where the law is unequally applied to citizens.
Any individual accepting money to undermine India’s democracy by a foreign power is liable to be prosecuted. Whether that individual is a plumber, an army man, a police official, a politician or a journalist – is inconsequential. In fact, journalists, who fancy themselves as one of the pillars of democracy must be far more ashamed of undermining the very democracy they claim to uphold after accepting money from foreign powers.
Those “liberals” whining today are not whining because India’s democracy has been compromised. They are upset because the treachery of some elements from the journalist class, who have peddled their paid propaganda against India under the garb of neutrality and the freedom of the press – are being investigated and exposed for what they truly are – pens for hire.
