‘$21 million going to my friend PM Modi’: US President Donald Trump fixates on fund to India for third day in a row
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump on Friday raised the issue of $21 million funding for ‘voter turnout in India‘ for the third day in a row and questioned why such substantial amount was being spent abroad when similar efforts could be made towards boosting voter turnout in United States.
During his address at the Governors working session, Trump also criticised funding of $29 million to a firm to strengthen the political landscape in Bangladesh.
“And $21 million going to my friend Prime Minister Modi in India for voter Turnout. We’re giving 21 million for voter turnout in India. What about us? I want voter turnout too,” Trump said.
“$29 million to strengthen the political landscape in Bangladesh went to a firm that nobody ever heard of. Got 29 million. They got a check. Can you imagine? You have a little firm, you get 10,000 here, 10,000 there, and then we get 29 million from the United States government. There are two people working in that firm. Two people. I think they’re very happy, they’re very rich. They’ll be on the cover of a very good business magazine pretty soon for being great,” he added.
Bharatiya Janata Party IT cell chief Amit Malviya shared Trump’s remarks in a social media post on X and took a swipe at the opposition.
“For the third day in a row, US President Donald Trump reiterated his claim about USAID funding efforts to promote voter turnout in India. But what does he know about his own country’s spending? ” Malviya said.
This comes amid Trump’s ongoing attack on the USAID to strengthen democracy by giving aides to different countries. Earlier, Trump claimed that US was trying to get somebody else elected in India.
“$21 million for 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,” Trump said.
“We have got to tell the Indian Government. Because when we hear that Russia spent about two thousand dollars in our country, it was a big deal. They took some internet ads for two thousand dollars. This is a total breakthrough,” he added.
A day later, Trump called the alleged funding a kickback scheme and said that nobody has any idea of what is going on there.
“And $21 million for voter turnout in India. Why are we caring about India turnout? We got enough problems. We want our own turnout, don’t we? Can you imagine all that money going to India? I wonder what they think when they get it. Now, it’s a kickback scheme. You know, it’s not like they get it and they spend, they kick it back to the people that send it. 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,” he said.
Also read : ‘Deeply troubling’: India investigating US funding claims amid foreign interference concerns, says MEA
“$29 million to strengthen the political landscape in Bangladesh. Nobody knows what they mean by political landscape. What does that mean? $20 million for fiscal federalism and $19 million for biodiversity in Nepal, $47 million for improving learning outcomes in Asia. What the hell do I care about?” he added.
Trump’s claim triggered a political slugfest as BJP claimed that the alleged funding was used to ‘sustain deep-state assets who work to defend and deflect such revelations.’
Also read: Trump admits to poll interference in India, BJP shares PM’s clips to pin blame on Congress
Meanwhile, Congress leader Pawan Khera lashed at the government for stating that the Congress government took money from foreign funding agencies.
“Selectively, they are saying that the Congress government took money from foreign funding agencies. When Smriti Irani was the brand ambassador of USAID and used to protest on the roads, was USAID behind those protests? Social activist Anna Hazare also launched a protest, after which our government lost the elections, and then he went to America and held road shows there. Everyone knows that he used to receive money from the Ford Foundation and RSS was also involved in it,” Khera said.
The ministry of external affairs also took note of the US administration’s disclosures about certain activities and funding, including a claim by US President Donald Trump that USAID provided $21 million to influence India’s elections.
MEA termed the matter “deeply troubling” and said that relevant departments and agencies are examining the potential implications. “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,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
