'Traitor Of The Highest Order': How Its Own Victories In Maharashtra, Haryana And Trump's Win In US Could Have Driven The BJP's All-Out Attack On Rahul Gandhi

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit out at the leader of the opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, calling him the 'traitor of the highest order' and alleging his connection with anti-India international agencies.

While BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra held a press conference to speak on Gandhi's alleged connection with billionaire George Soros, US-based agencies, and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Nishikant Dubey and Sudhanshu Trivedi raised this issue in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively.

This was unusual coming from the BJP as in the recent the ruling party had mostly done press conferences to counter Gandhi's statements, but for the first time in recent memory, it has chosen an all-out attack.

The BJP got ammunition for its claims from a well-known French newspaper Mediapart which alleged that the OCCRP—which often reports allegations against India's Adani Group that are picked up by Gandhi—is linked to the US government.

BJP spokesperson Patra claimed that there is a "dangerous triangle" and on its three corners are George Soros and US-based agencies; OCCRP; and Gandhi. He also said that Soros's Open Society Foundation is a large funder of the OCCRP.

He further claimed that the OCCRP defends the interests of Soros and the US deep state as 70 per cent of its funds come from them.

Explaining Gandhi's 'connection' to the OCCRP, Patra recalled the July 2021 incident regarding the India-made Covid vaccine Covaxin.

The BJP leader said that after OCCRP released a report claiming the cancelation of Covaxin order by Brazil on 1 July, 2021, Gandhi did a press conference on the very next day on 2 July, 2021. In this, he targetted India's 'Vaccine Maitri' initiative of supplying vaccines across the globe.

The catch? The news regarding the issue had been out since June 2021.

"OCCRP dictates, Rahul Gandhi follows," remarked Patra alleging that OCCRP does a hit job on Indian industries to tank Indian markets. He asserted that Gandhi followed OCCRP reports on Pegasus spyware and Adani issues as well.

Gandhi had held a press conference on the Pegasus issue as well and Congress members disrupted the Parliament. However, later, the claims regarding Pegasus spyware were dismissed by the Supreme Court in August 2021.

Patra cited another report from OCCRP, published in July 2022, when Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi were being questioned in the National Herald case. This report claimed that proceedings in the case were politically motivated and the case led to 'nationwide protests', which was factually incorrect.

Drawing further links between Gandhi and Soros, Patra said that Salil Shetty, vice-president of Soros's Open Society Foundation joined the Congress leader's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra'.

Gandhi also met OCCRP's Bangladeshi journalist Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey, known to publish anti-India articles, and anti-India US lawmarker Ilhan Omar, during his US visit, Patra said showing the pictures of the two together.

"All those who hate India, love Rahul," the BJP leader said referring to another incident where OCCRP journalist Anand Mangnale, considered close to Gandhi, allegedly delivered money from China to Sharjeel Imam for the 2020 Delhi riots.

Raising the issue in Rajya Sabha, Sudhanshu Trivedi questioned the coincidences of the release of US and Soros-funded OCCRP reports ahead of the Parliament sessions in India, which are used to disrupt the parliamentary functioning.

"Report on Indian farmers comes on 3 February 2021 while Budget Session started on 29 January 2021. Pegasus report comes on 18 July 2021 while Monsoon Session was set to start on 19 July 2021. BBC Documentary 'India: The Modi Question' comes on 17 January 2023, the Hindenburg report comes on 24 January 2023 while the Budget Session was set to start on 31 January 2023," Trivedi said.

"Manipur violence video comes out on 19 July 2023 while Monsoon Session was set to start on 20 July 2023. A report on India's vaccine was published on 21 May 2024 when the Lok Sabha election campaign was in full swing. After the Monsoon Session concludes on 9 August 2024, Hindenburg's report comes on 10 August 2024. Before the current session started on 25 November, the American court report on Adani Group comes on 20 November," he added.

Trivedi claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha election became the first election in Indian history when even a foreign government, of Russia, acknowledged international interference in the country's elections and questioned the opposition's involvement in this.

Nishikant Dubey in his remarks named Human Rights Watch, another organisation funded by Soros and known to criticise India, and alleged that Soros wants to derail the Indian economy, just like what he did with the Bank of England in 1991.

The remarks show that the BJP is not only targeting Gandhi, but even the international forces that have been targeting India in the past few years, especially the US deep state.

The timing of the operation becomes interesting as the Deep State-critic, Donald Trump, is set to become the US president in January 2025. It is an open question if the BJP would have adopted the same line of attack had Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party won the US election instead.

Other than the incidents referred to by the BJP, there are a few more instances that show how international forces are trying to meddle with India. One such example is from the 2021 farmers' protest.

During that time, several international celebrities, including popstar Rihanna tweeted on the matter, which led to questions over the funding of the protests as such celebrities are known to make such posts only after charging hefty amounts.

The farmers' protest toolkit came out in the open when then-teenage Swedish environment activist Greta Thunberg shared it by mistake on social media and deleted it after a short time and posted an updated version later.

Even Rahul Gandhi's activities, especially during his foreign visits, suggest his affinity with US Deep State and allied institutions. Last year, during an event in London, he urged Europe and the US to 'save democracy in India'.

Not to mention, the 2008 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Gandhi on behalf of the Congress party with the Chinese Communist Party, the details of which are unknown yet, even as allegations of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation receiving Chinese funding have emerged.

While these activities have been going for long, what's new is the BJP's courage to talk about them without mincing the words in an aggressive manner, both inside and outside the parliament.

This maybe because the party is buoyed by its recent Maharashtra election victory, where the ruling coalition Mahayuti won almost 80 per cent of the state's assembly seats after an aggressive campaigning one the slogans of 'Batenge to katenge' and 'Ek hain to safe hain.'

While the party might have understood that aggression in certain areas is liked by the people, its confidence to speak out against the Deep State might have come from the election of Trump as the US president in the 2024 election.

The Biden administration was believed to be supportive of the Deep State, while Trump has already started taking actions against it like the appointment of Kashyap ('Kash') Patel, a Deep State critic, as the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

During his election campaign also, Trump had made it clear that he intends to 'drain the swamp,' i.e. 'clean the Deep State'.

The proposed efficiency commission, which will be headed by billionaire Elon Musk, is also expected to target this institution. Declassification and publishing of all documents related to Deep State spying are also on his Agenda 47.

In such a scenario, India targeting the alleged India-based allies of the US Deep State might be appreciated by Trump or at least, not draw an unfavourable response. While Trump's presidency can raise other challenges for India like trade wars and tariff hikes, differing views on the Deep State is unlikely to be a point of disagreement between Trump and Modi.

Thus, the BJP's all-out offence on Gandhi on his international ties seems to have come at the right time.