A social media post alleging foreign funding links between the Indian National Congress and a media influence network has created a storm.
The post has targeted Kota Neelima, a writer and wife of Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera.
A threat shared on X alleged that Neelima is part of an alleged ecosystem connecting the Congress party, foreign funding and sections of the media. It identifies her as a Congress Working Committee member and former vice-president of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, and links her to a Delhi-based organisation called PROTO.
According to the post, PROTO was founded in 2018 by fellows of the US-based International Center for Journalists and later became a partner for its South Asia operations.
The account claims that journalism programmes linked to ICFJ channel funds from western governments, foundations and media-linked institutions into India, promoting narratives critical of the BJP-led central government.
The thread further alleges that since 2017, Neelima has been associated with multiple platforms, including the Institute of Perception Studies, Rate The Debate, Hakku Initiative and StudioAdda.
It claims these platforms hosted journalists critical of the BJP and may have influenced selections for foreign-funded journalism projects. No documents or official records have been made public to support these assertions.
The post goes on to allege ideological and organisational links between PROTO’s founders and Jamaat-e-Islami-linked initiatives, suggesting a coordinated division of roles involving foreign-funded journalism, political opposition narratives and Islamist mobilisation.
According to India Today, the post also claims that stories produced under ICFJ-linked programmes between 2020 and 2024 focused on issues such as minority rights, hate speech, the Citizenship Amendment Act and demolitions, while overlooking other forms of communal violence.
Drawing wider political conclusions, the account alleges that the Congress party’s opposition to certain provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act is connected to protecting this alleged network, and links Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s international engagements to the same ecosystem. These claims remain unverified.
Refuting the claim, Neelima took to X and said, “I am shocked at this defamatory rant masquerading as an investigation in this thread. It is a deliberate lie, published with the intent to injure my reputation. Every material assertion is false and malicious.”
She said that civil and criminal proceedings are being initiated without delay against the author, publisher, and all who knowingly circulated it and amplified it.
“Consequences will be pursued to their full extent under law,” Neelima concluded.
