February 24th 2025.
The discussion surrounding USAID's financial support for 'voter turnout' in India has sparked a heated political debate between the Congress and BJP parties. Both sides have taken turns making pointed remarks about who will benefit from this funding. The Congress has accused the BJP of trying to deceive the public with this initiative, while the BJP has fired back, accusing the Congress of colluding with foreign powers to plot against the country.
The latest round of verbal sparring began this morning when Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh shared the Finance Ministry's annual report for 2023-24 and revealed that the USAID program was involved in seven projects, in collaboration with the government. In response, Amit Malviya, the BJP IT cell chief, quickly retaliated, calling the Congress and its allies desperate to divert attention from the controversial USAID funding.
Malviya went on to break down the details of the funding, explaining that the USAID projects in question were official government-to-government partnerships, carried out transparently as Externally Aided Projects. He clarified that the central government simply channels these funds to the states for development, which falls well within the framework of cooperative federalism. He also added that the projects mentioned in the Finance Ministry's report were initiated back in 2010-11, and this information can be verified in the 2014-15 report.
In the early hours of the morning, Jairam Ramesh, the Congress' communications-in-charge, stated that USAID is currently implementing seven projects in India, with a total budget of $750 million. He asserted that none of these projects had anything to do with voter turnout and that they were all carried out with the involvement of the Union Government. Responding to these claims, Malviya took to social media and questioned why the Congress was defending covert interference by foreign donors and organizations connected to George Soros, who are working to destabilize our democracy under the guise of philanthropy.
In a strongly worded statement, Malviya declared that India's sovereignty is not for sale and that the country's governance will not be dictated by foreign agents pretending to be benefactors. This controversy over a $21 million grant to India arose after Elon Musk's DOGE Foundation announced that they had cancelled the grant meant to boost "voter turnout." This claim was also supported by US President Donald Trump on numerous occasions.
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