Modi's party has accused the U.S. of destabilizing the situation in India, according to Reuters.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has accused the U.S. State Department and other government entities of attempting to destabilize India. This statement was supported by a group of investigative journalists and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine, citing Reuters.

The accusation came as a surprise, given that over the past two decades, strong relations have developed between New Delhi and Washington, with both countries promising to further strengthen ties despite some disagreements.

Gandhi's Congress Party utilized articles from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which "focused exclusively" on the Adani Group (founded in the 1980s as a commodity trading firm - editor's note) and its potential closeness to the government, to undermine Modi's reputation.

Last month in the U.S., Gautam Adani, the head of the group, and seven others were charged with participating in a scheme to bribe Indian officials for $265 million. The group called these allegations "baseless."

The OCCRP articles also contain accusations against Indian state hackers for using the Israeli-made spyware Pegasus to target government critics. The government previously denied both accusations.

Earlier, the Bharatiya Janata Party accused Gandhi, OCCRP, and 92-year-old billionaire, financier, and philanthropist George Soros of attacking Modi.

On Thursday, the political force cited a report from French media stating that OCCRP is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and "other state actors" like Soros.

"The deep state had a clear goal of destabilizing India, targeting Prime Minister Modi. The U.S. State Department has always been behind this agenda... OCCRP served as a media tool to implement the 'deep state' agenda," the party noted in a series of posts on X.

U.S. Response

A State Department representative stated that the U.S. government supports the professional development and capacity-building of journalists, but this "does not influence the editorial decisions or direction of these organizations."

"It is regrettable that the ruling party of India is making such accusations," the party representative said.

On Thursday, the national representative of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Member of Parliament Sambit Patra reiterated these accusations at an official media briefing.

"A French group of investigative journalists... found that... 50% of OCCRP's funding comes directly from the U.S. State Department. OCCRP serves as a media tool to implement deep state plans," Patra stated.

Soros and the Congress Party did not immediately respond to requests for comments from Reuters. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs also did not respond to a request for comment regarding the ruling party's accusations against the State Department.

In a statement, OCCRP emphasized that it is an independent media outlet that is not affiliated with any political party.

"Although the U.S. government provides some funding to OCCRP, it does not have a say in our editorial processes and does not control our reporting," the statement noted.

Recently, the government has faced a crisis due to U.S. allegations against Gautam Adani, whom opposition leaders claim Modi has always defended. Last week, the country's parliament was suspended several times as opposition MPs demanded discussions on this issue.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, along with Modi and Adani, denies these allegations.

Tensions in India-U.S. Relations

At the end of November, the Financial Times accused Gautam Adani, head of the Adani Group and Indian billionaire, of being involved in a long-standing bribery scheme that involved payments to Indian officials to secure favorable terms on solar energy contracts. The scheme could have generated over $2 billion in profits.

In October, American prosecutors charged an Indian government official with involvement in the preparation of a murder in New York of a Sikh separatist with U.S. citizenship. This case soured relations between the U.S. and India.

Additionally, according to Bild, India is obstructing Turkey's entry into BRICS.