Questions $21 million in financial aid for “voter turnout” in India during the Biden administration
New Delhi: United States President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned $21 million in financial aid for “voter turnout” in India during the Biden administration and indicated that this may have been an attempt at regime change in India and interference in the nation’s poll process and that the US will have to inform Indian officially about this.
“Why do we need to spend $21 million for voter turnout in India? … I guess they were trying to get someone else elected. We ought to tell the Indian government because when we heard that Russia spent $2,000 in our country, it was a big deal. They (Russia) took some Internet ads for $2,000. This is a total breakthrough. $21 million for India elections,” the US President said at an event.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is the “principal US agency to extend assistance to countries recovering from disaster, trying to escape poverty and engaging in democratic reforms”. The Trump Administration has now cancelled the allocation.
Last December, soon after the defeat of the Democrats in the US elections, the ruling BJP on the social media platform X had claimed that organisations funded by the US state department and the US “deep state” were targeting the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India.
The BJP posted on X: “French investigative media group Mediapart revealed that the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is funded by the US state department’s USAID, as well as other deep state figures like George Soros and the Rockefeller Foundation. In fact, 50 per cent of OCCRP’s funding comes directly from the US state department. OCCRP, therefore, functions as a media tool for carrying out deep state agendas”.
“The Deep State had a clear objective to destabilise India by targeting Modi. To achieve this, they turned to OCCRP, instructing the organisation to provide material aimed at damaging Modi’s and India’s image. The (main Opposition party) Congress then exploited this material to launch attacks on Modi, propagate false narratives and disrupt the functioning of Parliament. The US Deep State was always working behind the scenes… The Deep State is an evil force that has brought nothing but destruction,” the BJP post said.
The US embassy, under then ambassador Eric Garcetti, had described the allegations as “disappointing”.
“It’s disappointing that the ruling party in India would make these kinds of accusations. The US government works with independent organisations on programming that supports professional development and capacity building training for journalists. This programming does not influence the editorial decisions or direction of these organisations. The United States has long been a champion of media freedom around the world. A free and independent press is an essential component in any democracy, enabling informed and constructive debate and holding those in power accountable,” the US embassy reacted.
Garcetti, being a political appointee of the previous Biden administration, demitted office last month on January 20 when the Trump administration assumed office.
It is not a secret that ties between India and the US under the Biden administration had soured considerably in the last one-and-a-half years of the previous administration’s term due to several factors, including India’s continued friendship with time-tested friend Russia and also over a foiled plot to kill pro-Khalistan extremist and US citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York in 2023, in which the US alleged that a (now erstwhile) Indian government employee was involved. The Biden administration had also sharply and directly criticised India on the religious freedoms’ issue.
