🍃The Ministry of External Affairs has called the row over United States Department of Government Efficiency revealed USD 21 million USAID listed for India's 'voter turnout' 'deeply disturbing'. A political slugfest had erupted on Friday over a media report that claimed that the USAID was meant for Bangladesh and not India.
ꦿWhile the Congress demanded an apology from the BJP and alleged that the ruling party's narrative was aimed at diverting attention from its own use of foreign funds to destabilise past governments, the BJP denied having any connection with the funding.
𒁃The Indian Express in its recent investigative report cited documents and stated, "Facts show all may have jumped the gun. That USD 21 million ... was sanctioned in 2022 for Bangladesh, not India."
ඣThe DOGE on February 16 listed items on which the “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent” and the list included “USD 21M for voter turnout in India.”
♋DOGE noted that all of the items have been cancelled.
𓂃The list also included USD 29 million for "strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh”, USD 20 million for "fiscal federalism" and USD 19 million for "biodiversity conservation" in Nepal as well as USD 47 million for "improving learning outcomes in Asia”.
MEA Statement On The Matter
♌Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a media briefing called the claims by the US department "deeply troubling" and mentioned that relevant authorities are examining this matter.
🐷Jaiswal stated, "We have seen information that has been put out by the US administration regarding certain USA activities and funding. These are obviously very deeply troubling. This has led to concerns about foreign interference in India's internal affairs."
🐻He further added, "Relevant departments and agencies are looking into this matter. It would be premature to make a public comment at this stage, so relevant authorities are looking into it, and hopefully we can come up with an update on that subsequently."
What Did US President Trump Say?
In a speech in Miami on February 19, US President Donald Trump ✅said, "Why do we need to spend USD 21 million for voter turnout in India? Wow, USD 21 million! I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected."
⛎Trump against said, "USD 21 million for voter turnout in India. Why are we caring about India's turnout? We have got enough problems. We want our own turnout,” at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Washington DC on Thursday.
🃏“I would say in many cases, many of these cases, anytime you have no idea what we’re talking about, that means there’s a kickback because nobody has any idea what’s going on there,” he added.
🐈This is the third time within a week that Trump has questioned the funding.
What Did Indian Express Report Suggest?
In 2022, the U.S. sanctioned a $21 million grant, but it was allocated for Bangladesh, not India, as records accessed by The Indian Express𒅌 reveal. Out of this total, $13.4 million has already been disbursed.
𒐪The report also states, "According to the official open data source of US federal spending, there is no USAID funded CEPPS project in India since 2008."
💙The funds were primarily used for “political and civic engagement” projects targeting Bangladeshi students, ahead of the country’s January 2024 elections.
▨Some of these projects have raised concerns about the integrity of the upcoming elections, particularly since they were initiated seven months before the potential removal of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from office.
ﷺThe specific grant matching the $21 million amount is linked to USAID's "Amar Vote Amar" (My Vote is Mine) project, which focuses on voter education and engagement in Bangladesh. This grant, under the Federal Award Identification Number 72038822LA00001, was approved in July 2022. However, in November 2022, the purpose of the grant was modified and rebranded as the "Nagorik (Citizen) Program." The project is intended to run for three years, concluding in July 2025.
𒁏As of now, over half of the grant—$13.4 million—has already been spent on the program. This project aims to encourage civic participation and strengthen democratic processes in Bangladesh, but the timing and political context surrounding these funds have raised questions about their influence on the upcoming elections.
🐷A USAID Political Processes Advisor in Dhaka confirmed the project’s details on social media during a visit to the U.S. in December 2024, stating that they were overseeing the $21 million CEPPS/Nagorik project, further solidifying its significance.
What Did Congress Say?
꧂Citing the media report, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Lies first mouthed in Washington. Lies then amplified by BJP's Jhoot Sena. Lies made to be debated on Godi media."
ಞ"Lies now thoroughly exposed. Will the liars apologise?" he asked in a post on X.
༒Addressing a press conference at the party office in Delhi, the Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera alleged that the entire "USD-21 million USAID funds narrative" perpetrated by the BJP, Modi government's ministers, its economic advisor, the party's IT department head, the RSS-BJP ecosystem and a section of the "BJP-friendly media" was done to divert attention from their "own sins" of using foreign funds to destabilise Congress governments of the past.
๊Citing the media report, Khera claimed that the truth has come out that the "USD 21 million USAID funds" were not given to India, but to Bangladesh.
⛎"Official documents prove that. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji's best friend Trump had perhaps intentionally or unintentionally made a faux pas through the DOGE. But the fact that the RSS-BJP ecosystem shamelessly latched onto it, without examining the facts, tells you that it wanted to hide its own acts of commissions in damaging India's democracy," he said.
🌠The Congress leader said former prime minister Indira Gandhi was right when she pointed out towards the "foreign hand" of the BJP's ideological forefathers and the erstwhile Janata Party.
💜"It is no secret that the RSS took the CIA's assistance during Emergency and in the run-up to it. P N Dhar's book, 'Indira Gandhi, the 'Emergency', and Indian Democracy', clearly chronicles how 'the US showered praise on J P (Jayaprakash Narayan) and his role in fighting the Indira Gandhi government in 1974'. The Nixon administration wanted to punish her for her defiance to the US in 1971 and conducting India's first nuclear test later," he claimed.
🍌Khera further alleged that the RSS orchestrated the Anna Hazare-Arvind Kejriwal "India Against Corruption" movement to overthrow the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government with the help of foreign aid, especially from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Ford Foundation.
"Is it not true that exactly a month ago, on January 21, former Union minister Smriti Irani 🍎attended a panel discussion organised by the USAID in Davos under the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum? Is it not true that Smriti Irani herself has stated that she has served as the USAID goodwill ambassador to India for four years?" he asked.
If collaborations with US agencies amount to deep-state activities, then why did Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis 𝔍discuss opportunities on a collaboration with the USAID on November 10, 2022, the Congress leader asked.
🙈"Let it be clear, we do not consider global partnerships, developmental agencies, aid mechanisms, such as the USAID, as unscrupulous. It is the BJP that first started the deep-state narrative and demonising the USAID. However, we have enough evidence that the RSS-BJP has been taking covert assistance from foreign agencies to destablise Indian democracy and bulldoze our Constitution," Khera alleged.
How Has BJP Responded?
🤪BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya said the report discusses USD 21 million in funding to Bangladesh in 2022 but misrepresents the reference to a USD-21 million funding tranche intended to "promote" the voter turnout in India.
🍸"What Indian Express conveniently sidesteps is the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Election Commission of India -- under the leadership of S Y Quraishi -- and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an organisation linked to George Soros's Open Society Foundation, which is primarily funded by USAID," Malviya said in a post on X.
