The Congress has new ammunition to attack the BJP after the Washington Post refuted Donald Trump’s claim that $21 million was sent to India for “voter turnout” by stating that there was no record of any program. However, the American newspaper, citing USAID officials, claimed that the organization had a $21 million contract for Bangladesh in their article titled “How a false DOGE claim ignited a political firestorm in India.”
The Indian Express said that since 2008, USAID has not provided any funding to India for any poll-related projects; the Washington Post story supports this assertion. A political dispute between the Congress and the BJP has been centered around the Express piece. Using the Washington Post article as backing, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera declared that the “BJP and its blind supporters” would be held accountable after the exposé. Rahul Gandhi, a Congress MP, has come under fire from the BJP for allegedly looking for outside assistance to unseat Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “In this latest expose on the so-called US funding to increase voter turnout in India, The Washington Post discovers that no such program existed and no such funding came in. For the BJP and its blind supporters, crow is part of their daily diet plan. Who else will eat crow following this comedy of errors?” Khera tweeted.
A $21 million grant to India to increase “voter turnout” was canceled, according to the DOGE, which is led by Elon Musk. This sparked the debate. The Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS), a group of non-profit organizations supported by USAID, received $486 million in payments, including the $21 million grant to India. According to the Washington Post report, which cited three individuals with knowledge of US aid programs, there was no program in India that fit DOGE’s description. “We were all shocked to see that claim from DOGE. We don’t know anything about elections in India because we have never been involved,” an official said.
The Musk-led department appeared to be “conflating numbers” from other initiatives, according to another US source. Trump fanned the flames earlier this week by suggesting that the money could have been used to sway the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. “Why is it necessary to invest USD 21 million to increase Indian voter turnout? The Biden administration, I suppose, was attempting to elect someone else. The US president stated, “We must inform the Indian government.” Since then, he has made multiple attempts to repeat the $21 million funding charge without offering any supporting documentation.
