"No need to act, as if you are on the payroll of George Soros," Kiren Rijiju joins issue with Shashi Tharoor !!

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday slammed Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor after the latter took a dig at the BJP for claiming that elements in the American "deep state" were behind attempts to destabilise India. 

Taking to X, Rijiju suggested the Thiruvananthapuram MP not to act as if he was on the "payroll of George Soros".

"No need to act, as if you are on the payroll of George Soros. Democracy and Diplomacy are for the country's interest, not means to abuse- own country in tandem with the adverse foreign elements. Expected better from you Shashi," the senior BJP leader said.

Rijiju's remarks came in response to an X post by Shashi Tharoor in which he said that the BJP neither understands democracy nor diplomacy and this "attack-dog" behaviour is an embarrassment to India.

"It's clear the BJP neither understands democracy nor diplomacy. 

They are so blinded by petty politics that they forget the value of a free press and vibrant independent civil society organisations in a democracy, and they are oblivious to a ruling party’s responsibilities in maintaining good relations with key foreign countries. This attack-dog behaviour is an embarrassment to India," Tharoor had said.

The US has denied the BJP's allegations that the American 'deep state' colluded with the media portal OCCRP (Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to "damage" India's image.  

Headquartered in Amsterdam, the OCCRP, is a media firm that covers crime and corruption-related stories.

The BJP had referred to a French media report and said it revealed that OCCRP is funded by the US State Department's USAID, along with other "deep state figures" like George Soros and the Rockefeller Foundation.

The bitterness between the BJP and the Opposition especially the Congress is only growing.  

"I am not scared to say this word. I don't have any hesitation to call the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha a traitor," BJP MP Sambit Patra said at a press conference.  

The BJP has said that from 2023 until now, OCCRP has published around 5-7 articles targeting industrialist Gautam Adani. 

"While there are thousands of major corporations globally, OCCRP seems singularly focused on just Adani.  Prior to targeting Adani, OCCRP had a similar focus on Putin. A clear pattern appears to be emerging!”  

The saffron outfit had also said - "Congress caused significant disruptions in Parliament was the Pegasus controversy. 

The common link between the Adani and Pegasus issues is that the material used by the Congress party to target the government in both cases was provided by OCCRP, a Europe-based investigative journalism group. This suggests a possible special connection between Congress and the OCCRP in promoting these narratives against India.” 

Of course differences have surfaced in the Opposition camp over Congress stance vis-a-vis raising the Gautam Adani issue. Parties such as Trinamool Congress and Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party do not approve this and they want to raise other pressing issues. 

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