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The US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, scrapped a $21 million grant aimed at boosting ‘voter turnout’ in India. Several days after the scrapping, US President Donald Trump defended the act and asked why should US taxpayers’ money be used for this initiative.
“Why are we giving $21 million to India? They got a lot more money. They are one of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of us; we can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high. I have a lot of respect for India and their Prime Minister, but giving $21 million for voter turnout? In India? What about voter turnout here?” President Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
Now, the ruling BJP terms the cancelled funding ‘external interference’ in India’s electoral process.
“$21M for voter turnout? This deficiency is external interference in India’s electoral process. Who gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure!” said BJP national spokesperson Amit Malviya in a statement.
He linked the initiative to what he termed “systematic infiltration’ of Indian institutions by foreign entities. He specifically pointed out billionaire investor George Soros who has been accused by right-wing political leaders across the world of influencing domestic politics through his Open Society Foundations.
The DOGE published a list of taxpayer-funded programs that have been cut, which included the $21 million allocated to India. The list, detailing the initiatives, which the US DOGE felt unnecessary and unjustifiable was posted on X and declared “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all of which have been cancelled.”
The other global initiatives for which funding was scrapped include a $29 million grant for ‘strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh’ and $39 million for ‘fiscal federalism’ and ‘biodiversity conservation’ in Nepal.
