A group of investigative journalists and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi backed the statement, reports Reuters.

The allegations come as a surprise, given that New Delhi and Washington have forged strong ties over the past two decades. Both governments have pledged to further strengthen their relationship despite occasional differences.

Gandhi's Congress party leveraged articles by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which focused exclusively on the Adani Group and its alleged close ties to the government, to undermine Modi's reputation. The Adani Group was established in the 1980s as a commodities trading firm.

Last month, US authorities charged Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and seven others with participating in a scheme to bribe Indian officials with $265 million. The group called these accusations "baseless."

OCCRP's articles also accused Indian state hackers of using Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to target government critics. The government previously denied both allegations.

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

On Thursday, the BJP cited reports by French media claiming that OCCRP is funded by the US Agency for International Development and "other deep state figures" like Soros.

"The Deep State had a clear objective to destabilize India by targeting Prime Minister Modi. The US State Department has always been behind this agenda...OCCRP has served as a media tool for carrying out a deep state agenda," the BJP said in a series of posts on X.

US response

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

"It's disappointing that the ruling party in India would make these kinds of accusations," the spokesperson said.

On Thursday, Sambit Patra, BJP's national spokesperson and a member of Parliament, reiterated the accusations during an official media briefing.

"A French investigative media group...has revealed that... 50% of OCCRP's funding comes directly from the US State Department. OCCRP has served as a media tool for carrying out a deep state agenda," Patra said.

Soros and the Congress Party did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. India’s Ministry of External Affairs also declined to comment on the ruling party’s accusations against the State Department.

In a statement, OCCRP described itself as an independent media organization that is unaffiliated with any political party.

"The US government, while providing some funding to OCCRP, has no say in our editorial processes and no control over our reporting," it said.

The Indian government has recently faced a crisis following US accusations against Gautam Adani, whom opposition leaders claim Modi has consistently protected. Last week, parliamentary sessions were repeatedly disrupted as opposition lawmakers demanded a debate on the matter.

The BJP, Modi, and Adani have all denied the allegations.

Strains in US-India relations

In late November, the Financial Times accused Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group, of running a years-long bribery scheme involving payments to Indian officials to secure favorable terms for solar energy contracts. The scheme allegedly generated over $2 billion in profits.

In October, US prosecutors accused an Indian official of plotting to murder a US-based Sikh separatist in New York. The case strained US-India relations.

Separately, according to Bild, India is reportedly obstructing Türkiye's bid to join BRICS.