'Deeply concerning': MEA reacts to Trump's claim on $21 mn USAID funding

Relevant departments and agencies are looking into this matter, said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Donald Trump's remarks regarding the '$21 million allocation to India for voter turnout'

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The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) responded on Friday (February 21) to US President Donald Trump's remarks regarding the "$21 million allocation to India for voter turnout".

 

Describing the US President's claim as "deeply concerning," the MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the matter was under review. "We have seen information that has been put out by the US administration regarding certain USA activities and funding. These are obviously very deeply troubling. 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, and hopefully we can come up with an update on that subsequently," the MEA spokesperson added.  

 

Trump made these comments while speaking at the FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami, where he criticised the funding decisions of the previous administration, suggesting they were intended to meddle in India's electoral process.  

 

 

“Why do we need to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian government... Because when we hear that Russia spent about two thousand dollars in our country, it was a big deal. They took some internet ads for two thousand dollars. This is a total breakthrough,” he said.   

 

Trump questions USAID funding justification

 

Despite expressing admiration for India and its Prime Minister, Trump questioned the justification for allocating such a significant amount to voter turnout efforts in another country. He remarked, "I have a lot of respect for India. I have a lot of respect for the prime minister. He just left, as you know, two days ago. But we're giving $21 million for voter turnout. It's voter turnout in India. What about, like, voter turnout here? Oh, we've done that, I guess. We did $500 million, didn't we? It's called the lockboxes."  

 

Trump’s remarks have ignited debate, with critics raising concerns about whether US foreign aid should be directed towards influencing democratic processes in other nations.

 

Significantly, an investigation by The Indian Express has raised doubts about these claims. It says that the USAID funds in question were actually intended for Bangladesh, not India. This contradicts earlier assertions from both Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE.