The BJP on Sunday said a US-funded programme, now cancelled, linked to voter turnout in India is a pointer to the previous Congress-led UPA government allegedly enabling infiltration of Indian institutions by forces opposed to the country's interests.
This assertion came in the backdrop of Elon Musk-headed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has been constituted by US President Donald Trump, has announced that it has cancelled many programmes costing hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars.
The programmes cited by it included USD 486 million to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening”, including USD 21 million for “voter turnout” in India.
BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya said in a social media post, “It is becoming increasingly evident that the Congress-led UPA systematically enabled the infiltration of India's institutions by forces opposed to the nation's interests - those who seek to weaken India at every opportunity.”
Once again, he alleged, it is the billionaire US-based investor George Soros, a “known associate” of the Congress party and the Gandhis, whose shadow looms over our electoral process.
Malviya said the Election Commission in 2012 had signed an MoU with The International Foundation for Electoral Systems' an organisation linked to Soros' Open Society Foundation, which is primarily funded by USAID.
In a swipe at the Congress, he said those questioning the “transparent and inclusive” process of appointing India's Election Commissioner had no hesitation in handing over the entire Election Commission of India to “foreign operators”.
Malviya said, “$21M for voter turnout? This definitely is external interference in India's electoral process. Who gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure!”
PTI reported from New York, the US Department of Government Efficiency led by billionaire Elon Musk has announced a series of expenditure cuts, including USD 21 million allocated for “voter turnout in India.”
US President Donald Trump chose Musk to head the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last month. Tasked with improving governance and curbing wasteful expenditures, the DOGE in a social media post late Saturday announced cancelling many programmes costing hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars.
The department said, “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all (of) which have been cancelled...”
The list included USD 486 million in grants to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening” including USD 21 million for “voter turnout in India” and USD 22 million for “inclusive and participatory political process” in Moldova. No further details on the funding were given in the post.
This comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official visit to the US, during which he held talks with President Trump, as well as Musk.
The SpaceX CEO met Modi with his family, including three children. The two discussed opportunities in space, mobility, technology, and energy and exchanged notes on efforts at good governance in India and the US.
In its post, the DOGE also cancelled USD 29 million allocated to “strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh”, as well as USD 20 million for “fiscal federalism” in Nepal and USD 19 million for “biodiversity conversation” in the Himalayan nation.
It also announced cutting a USD 10 million grant for “Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision”, USD 2.3 million for “strengthening independent voices in Cambodia”, USD 32 million to the Prague Civil Society Centre, USD 40 million for “gender equality and women empowerment hub” and USD 14 million for “improving public procurement” in Serbia, among other expenditure cuts. It also included USD 47 million for “improving learning outcomes in Asia”.
The DOGE has been put in charge of overseeing workforce reduction across the government, and as part of that, Musk announced that he would shut down USAID, which is responsible for humanitarian efforts around the globe.
According to USAID officials on February seven, all USAID humanitarian work worldwide had been stopped, reported ABC News.
The agency's website was shut down before Musk's announcement. Later, a Trump-nominated judge announced a temporary restraining order that prevents the president and DOGE from placing 2,200 employees on administrative leave.