A fierce political battle has erupted between the BJP and the Congress over a recent report claiming that the controversial $21 million USAID funding was meant for Bangladesh, not India. The grant, which had been a subject of speculation after former US President Donald Trump suggested it may have influenced the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, has now sparked a fresh round of accusations and counterattacks between the two parties.
Congress Seizes Report to Counter BJP’s Allegations
An Indian Express investigation stated that no USAID grant had been allocated for any election-related activities in India since 2008. It clarified that the only USAID-sanctioned voter participation program in recent years was the “Amar Vote Amar” (My Vote is Mine) project in Bangladesh, approved in 2022.
Citing the report, Congress leader Pawan Khera criticized the BJP for making unfounded accusations against the opposition without verifying facts. Khera labeled the BJP’s actions as “anti-national,” accusing the ruling party of historically seeking “direct and unethical help from external forces” to destabilize Congress-led governments.
“The BJP immediately jumped to blame the opposition without checking facts. This exposes their hypocrisy. If USD 21 million was indeed funneled into India, then where were our intelligence agencies like IB and RAW? This is a slap on their face,” Khera stated.
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Congress communications head Jairam Ramesh echoed these sentiments, stating that the report debunked the BJP’s claims and demanded an apology from the ruling party. The Congress has also called for a White Paper detailing USAID’s funding to Indian institutions over the decades.
BJP Rejects Report, Doubles Down on Allegations
The BJP, however, dismissed the report, claiming it misrepresented the reference to USAID’s $21 million grant for “promoting voter turnout in India.” BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya asserted that the report failed to address the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Election Commission of India and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an organization linked to billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundation.
Malviya accused the Congress of being “desperate” and suggested that its reaction to the report further confirmed that the UPA-era policies had enabled “infiltration of India’s institutions” by external forces. He also pointed out that USAID funds had continued to flow into India under various categories even after 2014.
