The Indian political landscape has been shaken by fresh allegations that opposition parties and certain journalists received funds from USAID. Leading the charge is BJP’s firebrand Lok Sabha MP, Nishikant Dubey, who has demanded a probe into alleged foreign funding aimed at destabilizing the Narendra Modi-led NDA government. Dubey, relentless in his pursuit, raised the issue in Parliament and hinted at exposing journalists who allegedly benefited from USAID money. He claimed that the public is already aware of these media houses and journalists, accusing them of spreading fake narratives to malign the government and mislead the people. From farm laws to the CAA to the Rafale jet deal, Dubey asserts that these “sold-out” media voices have pushed half-truths that collapsed under judicial scrutiny. If proven true, these claims could have seismic implications for Indian media credibility and the broader political opposition.
The amount in question reportedly runs into millions, if not billions, fuelling concerns over external influence in India’s democratic processes. Adding fuel to the fire, Dubey’s allegations align with previous claims that the Congress Party has long been entwined with foreign funding networks. The name of Sonia Gandhi has surfaced in connection with NGOs linked to billionaire George Soros, a known financier of global political activism. Further deepening the controversy, independent media outlet Opinion India’s Nupur Sharma has claimed that Congress’s Overseas Convenor, Sam Pitroda, and his three NGOs were also recipients of USAID funds. The links between Pitroda and USAID do not stop there. Pitroda’s Global Knowledge Initiative (GKI) in the United States, co-founded with individuals closely associated with government organizations and global foundations, has reportedly received funding from USAID and the Rockefeller Foundation. If these allegations are substantiated, they could expose a larger network of foreign-backed influence operations in India.
Meanwhile, revelations from WikiLeaks have added another layer to the controversy. The non-profit recently disclosed that the U.S. government funnelled nearly half a billion dollars ($472.6 million) through the Internews Network (IN), a global media NGO allegedly involved in covert censorship and media control. IN, according to the report, has worked with over 4,000 media outlets, produced thousands of hours of broadcasts, and trained over 9,000 journalists—all under the guise of fostering independent media. This pattern of foreign influence is not unique to India. Investigative reports suggest that USAID played a key role in destabilizing Bangladesh, using financial backing and covert operatives to infiltrate the nation’s political and social systems. The alleged objective? To force Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina into granting the U.S. a military base on St. Martin Island. When she refused, a wave of student protests was reportedly engineered, culminating in what some argue was a de facto coup. The echoes of such tactics in India have raised serious concerns. If political parties and journalists have indeed been compromised by foreign funding, it raises questions about the integrity of India’s democratic institutions. With Dubey promising to reveal more names, this controversy is far from over. What remains to be seen is whether the government will launch an official probe or if this storm will pass as another political skirmish in the high-stakes world of Indian politics.