Trump Criticizes $21 Million US Fund for Voter Turnout in India
Ex-US President Donald Trump has expressed fears about the Biden administration's allocation of $21 million to India for 'voter turnout', indicating that the action was aimed at interfering with elections in India. Addressing a summit in Miami on Thursday, Trump wondered why such foreign expenditure was needed, saying, "Why do we have to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. This is a total breakthrough".
The comments followed the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal cost-cutting agency headed by tycoon Elon Musk, announcing on February 16 that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) spent the money on voter mobilization in India. DOGE, created under Trump's former regime, posted a list of overseas spending, which included $29 million on 'strengthening the political terrain in Bangladesh' and $39 million on 'fiscal federalism' and 'conservation of biodiversity' in Nepal. The agency further added that the funding in question had now been revoked.
"In less than one month, DOGE has already saved more than $55 billion – and we're just getting started", Trump said, reiterating his promise to cut federal spending. "We will grow our economy quickly by shrinking the federal government dramatically".
Trump also continued his criticism of American taxpayer dollars being spent on foreign election-related activities at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on Wednesday. "Why are we providing $21 million to India? They are much richer. They are one of the world's highest-tariff nations as far as we're concerned; we can barely get in there because they charge us so much. I have a lot of admiration for India and their Prime Minister, but $21 million for voter turnout? In India? Voter turnout here?" he said.
BJP Condemns Suspected External Interference
The revelation by DOGE has also evoked a sharp response in India, with the BJP accusing the opposition Congress party of gaining from the now-abandoned USAID scheme. BJP national spokesperson Amit Malviya referred to it as 'external interference in India's electoral process' and implied that the ruling party had nothing to lose from doing so.
"Who benefits out of this? Not the ruling party (the BJP) for sure!" Malviya claimed, suggesting that the money was probably meant to benefit opposition work. He further accused foreign actors of systematically penetrating Indian institutions.
Malviya also connected the USAID program to Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, a well-known patron of international democratic causes. "Again, it is George Soros, a well-known ally of the Congress party and the Gandhis, whose shadow falls on our electoral process," he alleged.
He also referred to a controversial 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Election Commission of India and The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), a group associated with Soros's Open Society Foundations. In Malviya's view, such partnerships create doubts regarding foreign interference in India's democratic process.
As controversy surrounding the canceled USAID funding rages on, the matter has imparted another level to the intricately diplomatic and political relationship between India and America, with the two nations monitoring events in preparation for crucial elections.
