USAID used $21 million of American taxpayer money to boost voter turnout in India, according to Elon Musk’s DOGE. India has been spending more on elections than the US and sees a better voter turnout too. That’s the $21-million joke. On a serious note, the money could have been used to interfere in India’s electoral process.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday reacted to the information provided by the Trump administration regarding the United States Agency for International Development’s allocation of USD 21 million for “voter turnout” in India, calling it “concerning.” He said that the government is looking into the matter, and assured that the “facts will come out.” Jaishankar emphasised that USAID was allowed in India in “good faith.” While it was allowed to do “good faith activities,” the minister said, “Suggestions are being laid out from America that there are activities which are in bad faith.” The Union Minister called the incident “worrisome” as he added, “If there’s something to it, then the country should know who the people are involved in it.”
Earlier, US President Donald Trump pointed out that the USAID, under the Biden administration, made allocations of USD 21 million for voter turnout efforts in India. He also intended to suggest that the fund was meant to “get someone else elected,” implying a change of guards in New Delhi.
Trump, who was addressing the FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami, Florida, said, “21 million dollars in voter turnout—why do we need to spend 21 million for voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected.”
The Ministry of External Affairs, in its weekly media presser on Friday, referred to the revelations by the Trump administration as “deeply troubling.” While addressing the weekly presser, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “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.”
