New Delhi: The Washington Post has dismissed former U.S. President Donald Trump’s assertion that $21 million was allocated to India to enhance voter turnout, labelling the claim as false. An investigation by the newspaper revealed that no such program exists in India, contradicting Trump’s allegations, according to India Today.
This revelation has given the Indian National Congress (INC) fresh political leverage in its ongoing dispute with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In a report titled How a False DOGE Claim Ignited a Political Firestorm in India, The Washington Post clarified that the $21 million grant was, in fact, awarded to Bangladesh, not India, by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The report, which referenced U.S. officials, corroborated an earlier story from The Indian Express, which noted that India has not received USAID funding for election-related activities since 2008.
The controversy began when Elon Musk’s DOGE platform falsely claimed that it had cancelled a $21 million grant intended to boost voter turnout in India. DOGE linked the grant to a larger $486 million disbursement to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS), a coalition of non-profits backed by USAID. However, The Washington Post, citing multiple U.S. sources familiar with foreign aid programs, confirmed no such initiative was in place for India.
A U.S. official told The Washington Post, “We were all shocked to see that claim from DOGE. We don’t know anything about elections in India because we’ve never been involved.” Another official suggested that Musk’s team may have confused figures from different programs.
The findings have further inflamed the political battle between Congress and the BJP. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera seized upon the report, accusing the BJP and its supporters of spreading false information. “In this latest expose on the so-called US funding to increase voter turnout in India, The Washington Post discovers that no such program existed and no such funding came in. For the BJP and its blind supporters, crow is part of their daily diet plan. Who else will eat crow following this comedy of errors?” Khera tweeted.
Meanwhile, Trump has continued to suggest that the Biden administration may be interfering in India’s 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “Why do we need to spend $21 million for voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian government,” Trump said earlier this week.
Despite his persistent claims, Trump has not provided any concrete evidence to back his allegations.
