Congress turns heat on PMO’s Hiren Joshi, raises questions over business, foreign links

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday mounted a sharp attack on Dr Hiren Joshi, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in charge of communications and information technology in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), with party spokesperson Pawan Khera demanding full disclosure on his alleged business interests and foreign links.

Calling Joshi “not a small name”, Khera described him as “the most powerful person in the PMO” and alleged that he “played a key role in murdering democracy in this country, in throttling you (media).”

Hiren Joshi चर्चा में हैं। उनके साथी को law commission से बाहर कर दिया गया। वो कौन सी Betting App में उनकी हिस्सेदारी थी, वो क्या PMO में बैठ कर क्या कर रहे थे?

विदेशों में इनका क्या इंटरेस्ट था? वो अमेरिका में किस से मिले? अब पीएम के कार्यालय पर बहुत बड़ा सवाल खड़ा हो गया है?… pic.twitter.com/W8hhZTtqo7

— Harmeet Kaur K (@iamharmeetK) December 3, 2025

“The government will have to reveal the truth behind this,” Khera said at a press conference, insisting that “the country has the right to know who his business partners are”. 

“What business was Hiren Joshi carrying out sitting in the PMO is also something that the country deserves to know. Which betting app, what was it, he has a stake in?” he asked.  

Khera added, “There is chatter on social media. And if the government does not come out with a clarification soon then these discussions will go on no matter how many apps they bring.”

“A close aide of Joshi who was brought to the Law Commission seven months back has been removed in haste, while also getting that person’s government bungalow emptied,” he claimed.

Ratcheting up the charge, the Congress spokesperson framed the issue as one of potential national security concern. 

“What are his foreign links? Whom did he meet during his overseas visits? Did Hiren Joshi compromise India’s national interest through his associations in the United States or anywhere else he went? All these things will come out,” Khera said, adding, “You can’t murder democracy that easily. Now there is a very big question mark on the PMO.”

Arguing that Joshi’s position in the PMO makes transparency non-negotiable, Khera said there must be clarity “not only about Joshi’s business interests but also about his personal associations”. 

“The country has a right to know what relationships he maintains, with whom, and what kind of damage these ties may have caused to the country,” he said. “The PMO must provide answers with full transparency. If not, we will reveal it all.”

Dr Hiren Joshi, a long-time Narendra Modi aide from the Gujarat days and OSD in charge of communications and information technology in the PMO, is widely regarded as a key strategist behind the Prime Minister’s digital and social media outreach.