Opposition targets government over arranging phone calls through American lobbying firm

According to a report by BBC Hindi, a massive controversy has erupted in the country's political atmosphere following a media report regarding telephonic conversations held between Indian officials and senior White House officials this year. Opposition parties have started launching scathing attacks on the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over this issue.

This entire controversy began with a report published in 'The Indian Express', which claimed that the American lobbying firm 'SHW Partners LLC' had arranged several phone calls between the White House and Indian officials during the months of May and June this year.

As soon as this report came to light, opposition leaders surrounded Prime Minister Modi, raising questions whether India now even needs the help of a lobbying firm to speak with US President Donald Trump? Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera wrote on the social media platform 'X', "The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that Modi has to take the help of a lobbying firm even to speak with his 'friend' Donald Trump." Khera further alleged that whenever Trump addresses Prime Minister Modi as a 'very good friend' or 'true friend', a price has to be paid for it, which is paid to the lobbying firm from Indian taxpayers' money.

Similarly, TMC MP Mahua Moitra also targeted the government, saying, "The truth is out. When Donald Trump tweets good things about Prime Minister Modi, the reason is that we, meaning Indian taxpayers, paid an American lobbying firm for this!" Senior journalist Seema Chishti also cited the report and claimed that Trump's tweet praising Prime Minister Modi was made by paying a lobbying firm, and this money belonged to the Indian public.

On the other hand, the Ministry of External Affairs has dismissed all these claims. The ministry's fact-check team termed a journalist's social media post as misleading and clarified it. The ministry stated, "The appointment of lobbying firms by embassies and other institutions in America is a normal process. The Indian Embassy located in Washington D.C. has been taking the services of such firms since 1948 and this information is available in the public domain." The ministry further added that the FARA filing of 'Mercury Public Affairs LLC' also clearly mentions that they only disseminated the relevant post.

However, the controversy has not subsided even after this clarification. Senior journalist Suhasini Haidar questioned the MEA's fact-check, asking whether it is a normal matter for a lobby firm to arrange communication with the White House. Citing the views of former diplomats, she said that lobby firms generally help in work and outreach on Capitol Hill, but discussions on bilateral relations should take place at the level of government officials. Journalist Sushant Singh has also termed this fact-check by the ministry as misleading.

According to the Indian Express report, SHW Partners LLC stated in documents filed under America's 'Foreign Agents Registration Act' (FARA) that it arranged 8 phone calls between the Indian government and senior White House officials during May-June this year. Jason Miller is the head of this lobbying firm. The report stated that these conversations were focused on India-US relations and the firm termed them as part of "political activities". The Government of India had signed a contract with Jason Miller's firm in April 2025, which was extended for one year in April this year. However, on June 23, this contract came to an end because Jason Miller joined the Trump administration as a special government employee.

Lobbying is a process in which a person or organization attempts to influence government policies or decisions. Lobbying firms in America are legally registered and they work to contact policy makers there on behalf of foreign governments. To maintain transparency in this process, it is mandatory to disclose details under laws like FARA, which is often used by political analysts and journalists to review government functioning.