BJP disputes leading daily’s fact-check on USAID funds for India, calls it cover-up

New Delhi, Feb 21 (IANS) US President Donald Trump’s ‘revelations’ on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funds, particularly his reference to $21 million funding to India for voter turnout, triggered a political storm in the country with BJP and Congress engaging in a bitter barb exchange.

The raging row over the US’ alleged attempts to influence electoral outcome in India got a fresh twist on Friday, as a leading daily reported that the $21 million mentioned by Trump didn’t go to India but was rather intended for Bangladesh.

The newspaper report, in stark contrast to Trump’s admission of the Biden administration’s attempts to influence foreign democracies and decision-making, invited strong reactions from the BJP as the latter accused it of publishing a false story on ‘2022 funding to Bangladesh’.

The BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya claimed that the leading daily was doing a cover-up for foreign interference through USAID-funded George Soros’ Open Society Foundations.

Disputing the paper’s fact-check, Amit Malviya said that the Indian Express article misrepresents the reference to $21 million funding tranche intended to ‘promote’ voter turnout in India.

“What the Indian Express sidesteps is the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Election Commission of India — under the leadership of S.Y. Quraishi —and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an organisation linked to George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, which is primarily funded by USAID,” said the BJP’s IT cell chief in a post on X.

He also claimed that the report remains silent on subsequent funding, beginning in 2014, under various categories aimed at interfering in India’s election process.

He further remarked that details of this funding were once available through annual filings on the now-defunct website of the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS).

Malviya claimed that revelations on USAID are increasingly showing that the Congress-led UPA systematically enabled the infiltration of the country’s institutions by forces working against the nation’s interests.

He also said that a certain section of the ‘civil society’ was rattled because of the dark secrets coming into the open and said that more such attempts to discredit and deflect from the revelations will be seen in coming days.

Notably, Donald Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had on February 16 announced its decision to ‘cancel’ the USAID funding to foreign nations. The US President has also elicited his views on shutting down the agency and its operations.

–IANS

mr/rad