‘Deeply troubling,’ says MEA on claims of USAID funding to influence Indian elections

The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said that allegations about foreign interference through $21 million in funding from the United States government for “voter turnout” were “deeply troubling”.

“We have seen information that has been put out by the US administration regarding certain US activities and funding,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the ministry, said in a press briefing. “This has led to concerns about foreign interference in India’s internal affairs.”

The Indian Express has since reported that the US government’s alleged $21 million funding was meant for Bangladesh, not India.

The government is looking into the claims, Jaiswal added.

On Sunday, the Department of Government Efficiency under US President Donald Trump’s administration announced that it had cancelled several international aid initiatives through the United States Agency for International Development “costing taxpayers’ dollars”.

USAID is an independent agency that is mainly responsible for administering foreign aid and development assistance on behalf of the US government. Trump had on January 24 imposed a 90-day freeze on money distributed by the organisation pending a review by the US State Department.

The list of initiatives for which funding was revoked on Sunday included $486 million in grants to the nonprofit organisation Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS), including an alleged grant of $21 million “for voter turnout” in India.

The consortium comprises three organisations...

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