Ex-CEC Quraishi Rejects US DOGE's Claim Of Raising Funds Under 'Voter Turnout' | Congress, BJP Denies Involvement

🔯The reaction came after the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire Elon Musk, announced a series of expenditure cuts, including USD 21 million allocated for "voter turnout in India."

💝The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's senior leader Amit Malviya called it "external interference" in Indian elections and stated that his party was not one of the beneficiaries of this fund. Congress hit back at this and suggested that by the end of the term around which this funding is reported to have been accepted, Congress was defeated by BJP.

🌊The DOGE in a post on X on Saturday announced cancelling many programmes costing hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars.

🎐The department said, "US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all (of) which have been cancelled..."

♕The list included USD 486 million in grants to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening including USD 21 million for "voter turnout in India".

What Did Former CEC Quraishi Say?

𒅌Former CEC S Y Quraishi' statement read, "The report in a section of media about an MoU by the ECI in 2012, when I was CEC, for funding of certain million dollars by a US agency for raising voter turnout in India does not have an iota of fact."

💟He said there was in fact an MOU with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) IFES in 2012, when he was the CEC, like the ones the EC had with many other agencies and Election Management Bodies to facilitate training for desirous countries at ECI's training and resource centre India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM).

𒉰"There was no financing or even promise of finance involved in MoU, forget X or Y amount," he added.

♏Quraishi further said the MoU in fact made it clear in black and white that there would be no financial and legal obligation of any kind on either side.

🙈"This stipulation was made at two different places to leave no scope for any ambiguity. Any mention of any funds in connection with this MoU is completely false and malicious, " said Quraishi.

♐Quraishi headed the poll panel from July 30, 2010 to June 10, 2012.

BJP Reacted

𒀰BJP leader Amit Malviya responding to DOGE's explosive post, termed the grant an "external interference" in India's elections.

🌌He questioned who the beneficiary was, asserting that it was "not the ruling party for sure".

🔯"USD 21M for voter turnout? This definitely is external interference in India's electoral process. Who gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure!" the BJP's IT department head said on X.

ꦍHe claimed that the now cancelled programme was a pointer to the previous Congress-led UPA government allegedly enabling infiltration of Indian institutions by forces opposed to the country's interests.

Congress Hits Back

Congress leader Pawan Khera reacted to Malviya's subtle hint at Congress and questioned why would the-then ruling Congress party sabotage its own electoral prospects and pointed out that by the end of that term, BJP 🍸had won the elections and had come to power in 2014.

ꦇIn a post on X Khera wrote, "Someone tell this clown that in 2012, when ECI allegedly got this funding from USAID, the ruling party was Congress. So, by his logic : Ruling party (Congress) was sabotaging its own electoral prospects by getting this so called ‘external interference’. And that the opposition (BJP) won the 2014 elections because of Soros/USAID."