‘Deeply troubling’: Govt as USAID row heats up

The Indian government is investigating USAID's election-related funding, calling it "deeply troubling" amid concerns of foreign interference.

The Indian government is looking into reports of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding election-related activities, the external affairs ministry said on Friday, describing the matter as “deeply troubling” since it related to foreign interference in internal affairs.

‘Deeply troubling’: Govt as USAID row heats up

Various government agencies, departments and ministries are looking into the matter, which has become a hot button issue in domestic politics since the Donald Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced on February 16 that it cancelled allocations of hundreds of millions of dollars by USAID around the world, including $21 million for “voter turnout in India”.

“We have seen the information that has been put out by the US administration regarding certain USAID activities and funding. These are obviously very deeply troubling,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a regular media briefing.

“This has led to concerns about foreign interference in India’s internal affairs. Relevant departments and agencies are looking into this matter,” he said.

The comment – the first official reaction to the controversy – came on a day when the political row over the revelations intensified, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress trading allegations.

Jaiswal declined to give details as to whether the USAID funding was already disbursed and the government bodies that are looking into the matter. “It would be premature to make a public comment at this stage,” he said.

Many Indian government agencies and several ministries have worked with USAID, and all of them are looking into this issue, Jaiswal said. “Therefore, first let them look into the matter, study the issues at hand and then, thereafter, we will come up with whatever we have to say,” he said.

People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that the ministries of home affairs, external affairs and finance, and specific ministries that have worked with USAID in the past, such as the health ministry, are involved in the exercise. The US side has provided no further information on the issue and USAID itself has not been forthcoming with any details, they said.

The matter has been further complicated by the nature of the claims being made by DOGE, which has provided no information to back up its accusations, the people cited above said.

According to a February 16 post on X by DOGE, which is led by billionaire Elon Musk, action was taken to cancel the spending of US taxpayer dollars in countries around the world, ranging from “strengthening independent voices in Cambodia” to “strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh” and “voter turnout in India”.

The post on X said the “$21M for voter turnout in India” was part of an allocation of $486 million to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS). USAID’s CEPPS programme was meant to strengthen local and national capacity to promote good governance and was implemented by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI).

The people cited above also said it was too early to conclude that the $21 million was meant for Bangladesh, and not India, as was suggested by a report in the Indian Express. “We really won’t be able to know until the matter has been examined. USAID should come out with the details,” one person said, requesting anonymity.

Trump, whose administration has launched an unprecedented crackdown on USAID, the agency that has overseen US assistance around the globe since the 1960s, as part of efforts to slash government spending and jobs, has repeatedly brought up the reported funding for India in public comments.

On Wednesday, he told an event in Miami: “Why do we need to spend $21 million for voter turnout in India? Wow, $21 million. I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian government.”

A day earlier, Trump defended DOGE’s decision to halt funding for USAID at Mar-a-Lago and said, “Why are we giving $21 million to India? They got a lot of money there. One of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of us.”

And on Thursday, he suggested the money was meant for kickbacks. “Why are we caring about India’s turnout? We have got enough problems. We want our own turnout…I would say in many cases, many of these cases, anytime you have no idea what we’re talking about, that means there’s a kickback because nobody has any idea what’s going on there,” Trump said at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Washington DC.

The comments triggered a political firestorm over allegations of electoral interference. Vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar weighed in on the issue, saying it symbolised an attempt to “dent” the electoral system of India.

“..What has been revealed by the President of the United States with full sense of responsibility is that the democratic process of this country was sought to be modulated, manipulated. To dent and taint the purity of our election system. I am sure it emanates from a person in authority. One thing is right because that is factual. The amount was given, and it is not a small amount,” Dhankhar said while speaking at the second Global Conference of Meditation at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

The BJP called Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a “traitor”, accusing him of colluding with foreign forces in his bid to weaken India. It also dismissed as “cover up” the report that $21 million was sanctioned in 2022 for Bangladesh, not India.

“More than $2000 million funding came to the government in India from 2004-13 during the erstwhile Congress led UPA rule. And, just $1.5 million came during Modi ji’s term. It’s because they know that Narendra Modi will not sell India and India’s interests to any foreign power,” said BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia

A larger share of the USAID fund came into India during the UPA regime because the Congress was willing to broker the country’s sovereignty and its interests, Bhatia alleged.

“While funding for the government (in India) stopped, there was an increase in funding for the NGOs during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra to strengthen Rahul Gandhi ahead of the polls in an attempt to defeat Narendra Modi (in the Lok Sabha elections),” he said.

Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra was aimed at “breaking India”, he added.

The Congress hit back, demanding an apology from the BJP and alleging that the ruling party’s narrative was aimed at diverting attention from its own use of foreign funds to destabilise past governments.The Congress also reiterated its demand for a white paper on the USAID funding.

“When Indira Gandhi ji was Prime Minister, America had greatly praised the entire movement of Jai Prakash ji….We do not consider these agencies wrong because democracy requires mutual cooperation. But if they were misused, release a white paper on it. We will release a ‘black paper’ on the RSS’ ties with these agencies,” said Congress leader Pawan Khera.