A $21 million grant to increase voter turnout in Indian elections has been cancelled by the recently established US Department of Government Efficiency, which is headed by billionaire Elon Musk.
American taxpayers pay for the USAID grant that was authorized by the previous administration, which was led by former US President Joe Biden. It is a component of the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening’s $486 million budget. An American government organization called USAID provides funding to support economic expansion, humanitarian relief, and global development.
The BJP, however, claimed that the USAID funding amounted to outside meddling in the Indian elections. “Who benefits from this? Definitely not the ruling party!” wrote Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP’s IT division.
Malviya also expressed disapproval of the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Indian Election Commission with the International Foundation of Electoral Systems, which is associated with the Open Society Foundation, led by George Soros. He claimed that the previous UPA government, which was run by the Congress, allowed foreign organizations to damage Indian institutions.
Nishikant Dubey, a BJP MP, claimed on February 11 that USAID worked with Soros and the Congress to destabilize India. This was in reference to a previous disclosure that the Soros foundation had received Rs 5,000 crore from USAID. He inquired as to whether the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust received funding from the foundation.
Other nations in Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe received the remaining monies. These included $20 million for “fiscal federalism” and $19 million for “biodiversity conversation” in Nepal, and $29 million to “strengthen political landscape” in Bangladesh.
Dubey further said that USAID was responsible for the current situation in Bangladesh and the collapse of a Hindu republic in Nepal.
