US State Department targeting India, claims Modi’s BJP

India’s  Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the State Department and deep state elements in the United States of trying to destabilise New Delhi in conjunction with few investigative journalists and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.

The BJP’s charges come as a surprise as India and the US have forged a strong ties in the last two decades and both the countries have vowed to further cement ties despite some differences.

The ruling party said that the Gandhi-led Congress party used the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)’s articles, which singularly focused on the Adani Group and its alleged closeness to the India government to undermine Prime Minister Modi.

Last month, Group chair Gautam Adani and seven others were indicted for being part of a $265 billion scheme to bribe Indian officials in the US.

The articles of OCCRP also accused state-sponsored hackers in India of using Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to target critics of Modi-led government.  Earlier, the  Indian government had denied both allegations.

In the past, the BJP had accused the OCCRP, Gandhi and 92-year-old billionaire financier-philanthropist George Soros of attacking Narendra Modi.