US President Donald Trump on Saturday, February 22, took another swipe at the USAID and criticised its funding of $21 million for 'voter turnout' in India, which his administration recently cancelled.
In a video shared by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) IT head Amit Malviya, on X, Trump could be heard saying, "$21 million going to my friend Prime Minister Modi in India for voter turnout. We are giving $21 million for voter turnout in India, what about us? I want voter turnout too."
Have a look at it here:
Trump also brought up the $29 million USAID funding allocated to Bangladesh for "strengthening the political landscape."
"The $29 million in Bangladesh was given to an unknown firm with only two employees," he further said in the video.
India on Friday, February 21, expressed concerns over USAID funding for certain activities, calling the revelations "deeply troubling" and raising fears of foreign interference.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that relevant authorities are reviewing the information released by the US administration. "We have seen information that has been put out by the US administration regarding certain US activities and funding. These are obviously very deeply troubling," he said, as cited by Live Mint.
"This has led to concerns about foreign interference in India's internal affairs. Relevant departments and agencies are looking into this matter. It would be premature to make a public comment at this stage, so relevant authorities are looking into it and hopefully, we can come up with an update on that subsequently," Jaiswal added.
Trump previously questioned the need to spend millions on voter turnout abroad, saying, "I have great respect for India and its prime minister... But we're giving $21 million for voter turnout in India. What about voter turnout here?"
