On Wednesday, Pieter Friedrich, a US-based investigator, claimed that the Justice Department is reportedly investigating OFBJP and has suspended all activities.
Members have been asked to “participate in the US election campaign and support any candidate or party in a personal capacity” but “not to use the name BJP or OFBJP during the campaign.
- News18.com
- Last update: September 10, 2020 8:44 PM IST
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After allegations emerged about the US Department of Justice’s investigation of the US chapter of Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP), Vijay Chauthaiwale, who is in charge of the party’s foreign affairs department, has issued a statement to OFBJP members to “participate in AND support any candidate or party in a personal capacity” but not to use the name of BJP or OFBJP during the campaign. “
The controversy comes as a result of a campaign video, titled ‘Four More Years’, released by the Republican Party that has images of rallies of the visit to India of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, ‘Namaste Trump’, and of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the United States. visit – ‘Howdy Modi’. The campaign video has been circulating in an apparent attempt to woo Indian-Americans ahead of the November 3 presidential election.
On Wednesday, Pieter Friedrich, a US-based researcher specializing in South Asia, who has been following OFBJP’s work and writing about the alleged links between former US presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard and BJP’s overseas chapter, posted a series of tweets in which he claimed that OFBJP “is allegedly being investigated by @TheJusticeDept and has suspended all activities. #ForeignInterference”
In his statement, Chauthaiwale said: “… as far as the BJP is concerned, we are naturally happy that someone of Indian descent is contending for the second highest place in the US. At the same time, we believe that any election is solely a internal process of that country and the BJP has no role in the process ”.
“India and the US have deep strategic relationships that have bipartisan support in the US and overwhelming public support in India. We are confident that this association will grow more and more in the future, ”he said.
However, he added that while members of OFBJP-USA were free to participate in the US elections and support any candidate of their choice, at the same time they have been instructed not to use the names of BJP or OFBJP in the campaign. .
Earlier in the day, OFBJP-USA also posted a tweet saying that it “has voluntarily registered with the DOJ under FARA. President @krishnareddyNJ has resigned for family reasons and @AdapaVPrasad assumed responsibilities as acting president. OFBJP-USA is fully functional and is not under any investigation. “
FARA or the Foreign Agents Registration Law requires agents representing the interests of foreign powers in a “political or quasi-political capacity” to disclose their relationship with the foreign government and information on related activities and finances.
In response to a question in the ‘Four More Years’ video, Trump had told reporters at a press conference at the White House last week: “We have great support from India. We have great support from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I think the (American) Indian people would vote for Trump. “
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