Trump calls $21M USAID fund to India a ‘kickback’, sparks BJP-Cong clash

Photo : PTI

Former US President Donald Trump has again spoken against the $21 million fund sent by USAID for voter turnout in India. He called it a "kickback scheme" and asked why the US should spend money on India's elections when it has its own problems. He made these comments at a meeting in Washington DC.

Trump said it was shocking that such a huge amount of money was sent to India. He wondered what Indian officials must have thought when they received it. He claimed that instead of using the money properly, some people might have taken it for themselves. Trump also talked about another fund of $29 million given to Bangladesh for its political system. He said no one even understands what that money was supposed to do.

Later, a US government department confirmed that all such funds had been canceled. On Thursday, Trump suggested that USAID may have been trying to influence elections in India. He said there was no reason to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India unless someone was trying to change election results. He also said that the Indian government should know about this and take action.

Trump’s statement has started a big fight between political parties in India. BJP leader Amit Malviya said this money was being used to support hidden groups that work to keep such issues secret. He said this kind of thing had happened before, and it was happening again.

Congress leader Pawan Khera responded strongly. He said that for the past week, some people had been claiming that the money was sent to harm the Modi government. He asked that if the Modi government allowed this money to enter India, then wasn’t that a failure? He also said that when people asked the Modi government about it, they replied that this money was sent in 2012 when Congress was in power. If that was true, he questioned whether BJP won the 2014 elections with this money.

Feb. 21, 2025 {{ Blogdetails.schedule_date|time }} 373

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