US Aid to India… Redirected to Bangladesh?

The US $21 million aid issue has taken a new turn. The controversy started when US President Donald Trump made remarks suggesting that the aid was intended to influence India's general elections. These comments sparked a war of words between the BJP and Congress. Meanwhile, a some section of media report emerged claiming that the aid was redirected to Bangladesh. Based on this report, the BJP and Congress have been accusing each other.

The report claims that the funds, which were intended to increase voter turnout in India, were used for a project in Bangladesh. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh posted this on Twitter and lashed out at the BJP and its media supporters. Sharing this, the opposition Congress criticized the BJP. However, the BJP has dismissed the report as fake.

It is well-known that former US President Joe Biden allocated $21 million (Rs 182 crores) to help influence the elections in India. Trump criticized Biden for attempting to interfere in the Indian elections by increasing voter turnout. He claimed this was the reason the aid was canceled. Trump's comments sparked a controversy in India.

The BJP raised concerns that Rahul Gandhi had become a puppet in the hands of foreign organizations, while Congress dismissed Trump's accusations as baseless. The BJP also stated that Modi's earlier accusation about foreign powers influencing the 2024 elections now appeared to be true. BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya criticized Rahul Gandhi for attempting to harm India's strategic and geographical interests with the help of foreign powers.

However, Congress rejected Trump's claims, calling them baseless. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh demanded that the government release a white paper on the aid provided to Indian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) through US Aid over the decades.

On February 16, the US-based organization Doge, led by billionaire Elon Musk, released a list of funds that were cut for various countries. It included the cancellation of funds intended to increase voter turnout in India. The Doge decision led to political controversy in India.