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Congress alleges taxpayers’ money was used to secure Trump’s praise for Modi.
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Mercury’s FARA filing records dissemination of Trump’s congratulatory post, not payment to Trump or commissioning of the message.
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A second lobbying firm, SHW Partners, disclosed arranging eight calls between Indian representatives and senior US officials.
The Congress has accused the Narendra Modi government of spending taxpayersā money to secure praise for the prime minister from US President Donald Trump, after disclosures filed by an American lobbying firm showed that it had circulated a congratulatory post by the US president on Modi.
In a post on its official X handle on Sunday, 8 November, the Congress alleged that the Modi government had paid Trump to publish a message praising the prime minister. The party also questioned the expenditure on American lobbying firms, suggesting that public money was being used for political publicity rather than addressing pressing national concerns.
The allegation follows disclosures under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which require individuals and organisations acting on behalf of foreign governments to report their activities, clients and financial arrangements.
According to a report by the Indian Express, Mercury Public Affairs, a US lobbying firm retained by the Indian embassy in Washington at a monthly fee of $75,000 (Rs 70.6 lakh approx.), listed Trump’s June post congratulating Modi on becoming India’s longest-serving prime minister among the material it had disseminated on behalf of the embassy.
The filing, however, does not establish that Mercury commissioned the original post or that Trump was paid to publish it. It records the firm’s role in disseminating the message ā a distinction that has become central to the political controversy.
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