Ex-Bureaucrat seeks ED, CBDT probe into RSS’s alleged $330,000 payment to US lobbying firm
New Delhi: Former Union government secretary E.A.S. Sarma has written to Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava urging the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to investigate whether the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) engaged a US lobbying firm by paying $330,000, and whether such funds should attract tax scrutiny in India. His letter, reported by The Wire, raises serious questions about the source, legality and disclosure of funds allegedly used by the RSS for lobbying in the United States.
Sarma drew attention to a filing made before the US Senate by Squire Patton Boggs (SPB), a prominent lobbying firm, which listed the RSS as a client. He also referred to media reports saying that SPB received $330,000 this year from another lobbying firm acting on behalf of the RSS. According to Sarma, this disclosure is troubling given that the RSS is not registered in India, operates through donations known as “Guru Dakshina”, and claims to function only within the country.
Calling the revelations “surprising”, Sarma questioned how the RSS could have paid a US lobbying firm if it neither has legal registration in India nor has disclosed any foreign branch. He asked whether RSS is registered under US law and whether its members — who offer Guru Dakshina as a traditional contribution — were aware that their funds may have been diverted for foreign lobbying.
Quoting traditional definitions, Sarma wrote that Guru Dakshina is meant to express gratitude to the “Guru” for imparting knowledge. Indian tax tribunals have previously upheld tax exemptions for RSS funds, citing this spiritual context. He argued that diverting such funds to a foreign lobbying agency changes their character entirely and raises serious questions of legality and propriety.
Sarma asked the CBDT to demand clarity from the RSS on multiple points: how its name appeared in official US lobbying disclosures, whether it has disclosed any overseas operations to Indian tax authorities, whether Guru Dakshina funds were used for the payments, and whether any foreign remittances were made in compliance with Indian regulations.
The developments follow a report by US-based outlet Prism, which stated that SPB — a firm also retained by the Pakistani government — received $330,000 in 2025 to lobby on behalf of the RSS before the US Senate and House of Representatives. The New York Times separately reported that Pakistan’s lobbying efforts, which included SPB, coincided with favourable shifts from the Trump administration, including a tariff cut from 29% to 19%. During the same period, US tariffs on India were raised to 50%.
These disclosures fuelled a political controversy in India over the transparency and legality of the RSS’s finances and its alleged engagement of a foreign lobbying firm.
Denying the reports, RSS functionary Sunil Ambekar posted on X that the organisation had not hired any lobbying agency. “Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh works in Bharat and has not engaged any lobbying firm in United States of America,” he wrote.
Sarma’s letter, however, argues that the denial does not address the official records filed with the US government. He insists that the issue demands urgent scrutiny from the ED and CBDT due to its implications for tax compliance, foreign exchange laws and the credibility of publicly disclosed financial information.
The matter, first reported by The Wire, is expected to fuel further debate over the RSS’s financial practices and possible violations of Indian regulatory norms.
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NEET-UG: 2 more held, role of several NTA officers under scanner; CBI focussing on source of leak
New Delhi (PTI): The CBI has arrested two more persons in connection with the NEET (UG) paper-leak case, with the role of several officers of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other organisations, who had access to the printing press where the papers were printed, coming under the scanner, officials said on Thursday.
The agency has arrested Dhananjay Lokhanda from Ahilyanagar and Manisha Waghmare from Pune and conducted searches at 14 locations across the country in the last 24 hours, they said.
The CBI is focussing on identifying the source of the leak that has caused massive disappointment to lakhs of aspirants eyeing a seat in undergraduate medical courses, which are allotted after the highly-competitive examination, the officials said.
According to the CBI probe so far, the involvement of public servants in the leak cannot be ruled out.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three individuals from Jaipur -- Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal -- along with Yash Yadav from Gurugram and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik.
Khairnar was in touch with Yadav and informed him in April that Mangilal Biwal was ready to pay Rs 10-12 lakh for arranging leaked NEET (UG) 2026 questions for his younger son.
Khairnar allegedly provided 500 to 600 questions from the leaked paper to Yadav, the officials said, adding that the questions could have helped score enough marks to get a seat in a reputed medical college.
Mangilal Biwal allegedly procured the paper from Yadav, who was known to his elder son Vikas Biwal from an NEET coaching in Rajasthan's Sikar. The deal between Mangilal Biwal and Yadav was for Rs 10 lakh, if 150 questions from the question bank matched with those in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper, the officials said.
Mangilal Biwal shared the paper with his son and further distributed it among relatives.
Yadav also told Vikas Biwal to find additional candidates for the questions to recover some of the money that he had spent on getting those, the officials said.
An analysis of digital devices has given the agency incriminating chats, leaked question papers and other digital evidence. The CBI will subject the devices to a forensic examination to get the deleted data, the officials said.
The federal agency has registered an FIR and formed teams to probe the alleged NEET (UG) paper leak that resulted in the cancellation of the exam held on May 3.
The NEET (UG) 2026 was conducted across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA at centres across the country.
According to the NTA, information regarding alleged malpractice was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination was held. The NTA said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for "independent verification and necessary action".
The Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) has claimed that a "guess paper" for chemistry, allegedly circulated among students ahead of the examination, had approximately 410 questions, including roughly 120 that appeared in the test.
