Deeply troubling: Government after Trump claims US election interference in India
NEW DELHI,FEB 21 : The Centre on Friday raised serious concerns over recent remarks by US President Donald Trump, who alleged that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) allocated a USD 21 million fund to India with the intent of “influencing its electoral process”.
Addressing a weekly media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal described the claims as “deeply troubling” and ensured that the matter is being examined by relevant authorities.
“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,” Jaiswal stated.
He further added that the government is actively looking into the matter, but refrained from making a detailed public statement at this stage.
“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,” he added.
During his speech in Miami earlier this week, Trump announced the cancellation of the USAID grant to India and claimed that the previous Joe Biden-led administration was attempting to interfere in India’s 2024 Lok Sabha elections to “elect someone else”.
“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 had said.
However, an Indian Express investigation report claimed that no USAID grant has been allocated for any election-related projects in India since 2008. The report instead asserted that the only USAID-funded initiative in Asia was a USD 21 million grant sanctioned in 2022 for Bangladesh’s voter participation project, “Amar Vote Amar” (My Vote is Mine).
Donald Trump’s remarks triggered a political slugfest in India with the BJP launching a scathing attack on Congress and calling Rahul Gandhi a ‘traitor’, accusing him of colluding with foreign forces in his bid to weaken India.
The Congress, on the other hand, highlighted the Indian Express report and demanded an apology from the BJP. It also alleged that the ruling party’s narrative was aimed at diverting attention from its own use of foreign funds to destabilise past governments led by the grand old party.
Congress has also asked the central government to release a white paper detailing USAID funding and financial contributions from similar agencies operating in India.
-PTI
