Donald Trump Questions $21 Million Aid to India Amid DOGE Cuts
On February 16 DOGE issued the list of programs funded by taxpayers that were cut which includes the $29 million that was allocated to Indian voter participation.
Donald Trump Questions $21 Million Aid to India Amid DOGE Cuts
A few days following the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the leadership of billionaire Elon Musk, scrapped a $21 million grant that was intended to increase "US India voter turnout" the president Donald Trump defended the move and asked why US taxpayer funds were used to fund this project.
"Why are we giving $21 million for voter turnout to India? They received a lot more money. They are among the countries with the highest taxes of the world, in comparison to of us. We can not even get in due to their tax rates being very high. I have a lot of respect for India and their PM Modi, but giving $21 million for voter turnout? What about voter turnout here?" President Trump declared in his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.
On the 16th of February, Elon Musk DOGE published a list of tax-funded programs which have been eliminated as well as the $21 million set aside for India's turnout in the voting. This announcement came through a blog post on X which DOGE provided a number of programs for foreign assistance that are that are deemed to be excessive or inadmissible.
The ruling BJP called the cancellation of the funding "external interference" in India's election process.
"$21M for voter turnout? Who gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure!" stated BJP the national spokesperson Amit Malviya, in a statement.
He went on to link the project to what he described as "systematic infiltration" of Indian institutions by foreign companies. Malviya cited millionaire investment guru George Soros, who has been blamed by right-wing politicians around the world of influencing Indian political processes via the Open Society Foundations.
