New Delhi: US President Donald Trump questioned the reason behind giving $21 million to India for "voter turnout" and said the country was one of the "highest taxing countries in the world" and its tariffs were "so high".
"Why are we giving $21 million to India? They have 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," Trump said while signing executive orders at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday.
"I have a lot of respect for India and their Prime Minister, but giving $21 million for voter turnout?..." the US President said.
His remarks came days a few days after the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cancelled $21 million USAID funding for "voter turnout" in India.
DOGE, led by Elon Musk, announced the cancellation of the grant on February 16. In a post shared on X, DOGE outlined several foreign assistance programmes that had been deemed unnecessary or excessive.
"US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all of which have been cancelled," the DOGE statement said, highlighting the cancellation of multiple international initiatives, including $29 million for "strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh" and $39 million aimed at "fiscal federalism" and "biodiversity conservation" in Nepal, and $21 million "for voter turnout in India".
BJP, which has long been alleging foreign interference in India’s election process has been quick to react to the DOGE announcement. “USD 21M for voter turnout? This definitely is external interference in India’s electoral process. Who gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure!” BJP social media head Amit Malviya posted on X.
- $486M to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening,” including $22M for " inclusive and participatory political process" in moldova and $21m for voter turnout in india.
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 15, 2025
$21m for voter turnout? this definitely is external interference in india’s electoral… https://t.co/DsTJhh9J2J
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, former Union Minister and BJP MP, in a post on X, said: “Smoking gun of Interference and undermining of Democracies – Shocking that on one hand there is discussion on democratic values and other hand there is brazen undermining of democratic nations… It reinforces the belief that almost all these “protests” had external funding/forces and puppetmasters behind it. I hope we investigate the money trail in India fully and who did what with the “USAID” money.”
Smoking gun of Interference and undermining of Democracies - Shocking that on one hand there is discussion on democratic values and other hand there is brazen undermining of democratic nations.🤬🤬🤮
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@RajeevRC_X) February 16, 2025
$486 Mln for " consortium of elections and political strengthening" - wth does… https://t.co/424zVw57w4
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