Sanjeev Sanyal, Member, Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioned the US Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) claim that it cancelled “$21M for [improving] voter turnout in India” and “$29M to strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh.” In a post on X,Sanjeev Sanyal said, “Would love to find out who received the US$21mn spent to improve “voter turnout in India” and the US$29mn to “strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh“; not to mention the US$29mn spend to improve “fiscal federalism” in Nepal. USAID is The biggest scam history.”
USAID Biggest Scam In History BJP Accuses US Agency
Why In News
- Sanjeev Sanyal, Member, Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, questioned the US Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) claim that it cancelled “$21M for [improving] voter turnout in India” and “$29M to strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh.”
- In a post on X,Sanjeev Sanyal said, “Would love to find out who received the US$21mn spent to improve “voter turnout in India” and the US$29mn to “strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh“; not to mention the US$29mn spend to improve “fiscal federalism” in Nepal. USAID is The biggest scam history.”
What Did DOGE Claim?
- US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Billionaire Elon Musk, said it cancelled a USD 22 million funding intended for “voter turnout in India”.
- In a post on X, DOGE announced, “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all of which have been cancelled…” This included, “$21M for voter turnout in India; $29M to strenghening political landscape in Bangladesh; $20M for fiscal federalism in Nepal. In an official post on X, Doge put out a list of cancelled initiatives funded by the American taxpayer. Among the countries mentioned in the post, one was India.
- “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all which have been cancelled..,” the Doge post said. “…$486M to the ‘Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening’, including $22M for “inclusive and participatory political process’ in Moldova and $21M for voter turnout in India”
Why Has DOGE’s Post Angered The BJP
- DOGE’s claim also drew sharp reaction from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Malviya. The BJP leader 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!”
- In another post, Malviya shared a 2012 report which stated that “EC signs MoU with IFES [The International Foundation for Electoral Systems] on election management.” BJP leader also accused American investor and philanthropist George Soros of having significant influence over India’s electoral process, suggesting a connection between Soros and the Congress, as well as, the Gandhi family.
- Former Union Minister Chandrasekar Slammed USAID Over Its Funding Allocations In South Asia, Including $21 Million To India. Called It A “Smoking Gun Of Interference And Undermining Of Democracies”, He Wrote On X,
- “Shocking That On One Hand There Is Discussion On Democratic Values And Other Hand There Is Brazen Undermining Of Democratic Nations.” “$486 Mln For “Consortium Of Elections & Political Strengthening” Reinforces Belief That Almost All These “Protests” Had External Funding & Puppet masters Behind It.
- The $21 million grant for India was reportedly part of a broader initiative by the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) to enhance electoral processes across the world. However, the post did not mention an Indian agency or entity that was to receive the aid.
- Grants have also been discontinued to Mozambique, Cambodia, Serbia, Nepal, Liberia, Mali, and “democracies in Southern Africa”, among others.
What Is The CEPPS
- CEPPS comprises nonprofit, nonpartisan and nongovernmental organisations funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which Trump wants to shut down.
- The CEPPS and USAID are among the thousands of US government-linked websites which have been taken down since early February after the Trump administration’s controversial move to shrink the government.
- According to the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, a partner of CEPPS, “CEPPS is a nonprofit organisation that pools the expertise of three premier international organisations – the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems – to support elections and political transitions across the globe. Our mission is to work together with local, regional and global partners to build resilient, inclusive and accountable democracies.”
- CEPPS was established in 1995 and was funded by the Global Elections and Political Transitions Programme of USAID. “Operating as a consortium, CEPPS provides USAID and other donors with the capacity to deliver complex democracy, rights and governance (DRG) programming at scale across the world,” it says.
- On May 17, 2012, the IFES signed a memorandum of understanding with the Election Commission of India to make “available the knowledge and experience of ECI to election managers and practitioners around the world through the Commission’s India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management,” an ECI press note had stated
What Has Former Election Commissioner Quraishi Said
- QUraishi rejected the report that US funding was used to raise voter turnout in India when he was heading the poll body.
- “The report in a section of media about an MoU by the ECI in 2012, when I was CEC, for funding of certain million dollars by a US agency for raising voter turnout in India does not have an iota of fact,” the former poll body chief said in a statement.
- He clarified that there was, in fact, an MOU with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in 2012, when he was the CEC, like the ones the EC had with many other agencies and Election Management Bodies to facilitate training for desirous countries at ECI’s training and resource centre India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM).
- “There was no financing or even promise of finance involved in MoU, forget X or Y amount,” he said.
