<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/24/musk-doge-claim-usaid-funds-india-trump-modi>
"Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” has been accused of setting
off a political firestorm in India after it claimed that the US government had
been sending millions of dollars to support the Indian elections.
In a list published on Musk’s social media platform X last week, Doge, a
special group that Donald Trump created, claimed that a $21m grant distributed
by USAid – the US agency for international development – to help “voter turnout
in India” had been cancelled, as part of the president’s sweeping cuts to
foreign aid.
However, records accessed by the
Indian Express newspaper have found that no
such funds were ever distributed in India and USAid staff have also denied the
existence of such a programme.
Instead, documents show that USAid had allocated $21m for a non-profit
promoting political engagement in neighbouring Bangladesh, amid a draconian
crackdown on the political opposition in the country.
Nonetheless, the claim was seized upon with gusto by Trump, as he sought to
discredit USAid and its global development programmes and justify gutting the
agency. Musk too has boasted that Doge is “feeding USAid into the wood
chipper”.
Speaking at an event in Miami, Trump told the crowds: “What do we need to spend
$21m for voter turnout in India for? Wow, $21m. I guess they were trying to get
somebody else elected.”
The next day he repeated the allegation at another event, stating that $21m was
“going to my friend Prime Minister Modi in India for voter turnout”. He brought
it up again on Sunday, as he addressed the Conservative Political Action
Conference, this time claiming the figure was “$18m for helping India with its
elections” and calling it a “kickback scheme”. “They take advantage of us
pretty good,” he added.
Trump’s misleading tirade came less than a week after the Indian prime
minister, Narendra Modi, travelled to Washington to meet the new president.
Trump called Modi a “great leader” and Modi called Trump a “friend”.
Trump’s USAid claims had a seismic impact in India. Modi’s governing rightwing
Bharatiya Janata party has long accused international civil society and human
rights groups of trying to undermine it, forcing some of the world’s most
respected organisations – from Amnesty International to Greenpeace – to shut
down their operations in India."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
