Washington Post counters Trump's India funding claim, Congress gets fresh ammo

The Washington Post, quoting US officials familiar with USAID programs, said USAID had a $21 million contract for Bangladesh.

In Short

• Report says no record of poll-related USAID program in India
• Says USAID had $21 million contract for Bangladesh
• Congress says BJP will have to eat its words following the expose

Countering Donald Trump's charge that $21 million was given to India for "voter turnout", the Washington Post reported that there was no record of any program as stated by the US President, giving the Congress fresh ammo to target the BJP. The American daily, in its report titled 'How a false DOGE claim ignited a political firestorm in India', however, said the USAID had a $21 million contract for Bangladesh, citing officials of the organisation.

The Washington Post report backs a similar article by the Indian Express, which claimed that India has received no funding from USAID for any poll-related project since 2008. The Express article has been at the centre of a political feud between the BJP and the Congress.

Latching on to the Washington Post report, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the "BJP and its blind supporters" would have to eat their words following the expose. The BJP has accused Congress MP Rahul Gandhi of seeking foreign help to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"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.

WHAT THE WASHINGTON POST REPORT SAID

The controversy erupted after the Elon Musk-led DOGE claimed that it had cancelled a $21 million grant to India to boost "voter turnout". The $21 million grant to India was part of a $486 million payment to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) -- a USAID-funded consortium of non-profits.

The Washington Post report, quoting three people familiar with the US aid initiatives, said there was no program matching DOGE's description in India.

"We were all shocked to see that claim from DOGE. We don't know anything about elections in India because we have never been involved," an official said.

Another US official said the Musk-led department seemed to be "conflating numbers" from other programs.

Fanning the flames, Trump, earlier this week, indicated that the funds might have been used to interfere in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. "Why do we need to spend USD 21 million for voter turnout in India? I guess they (the Biden administration) were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian government," the US President said.

He has gone to repeat the $21 million funding charge several times since, without providing any evidence.