Sun Feb 16 11:47:59 UTC 2025: ## BJP Accuses Congress of Enabling Foreign Interference in Indian Elections
**New Delhi, February 16, 2025** – The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of facilitating foreign interference in Indian elections. BJP IT head Amit Malviya alleges that a now-cancelled US-funded program aimed at boosting voter turnout in India, part of a larger $486 million initiative, is evidence of this alleged interference.
Malviya, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), linked the program to billionaire George Soros and his Open Society Foundation, claiming Soros, a “known associate” of the Congress party and the Gandhi family, has undue influence over India’s electoral processes. He pointed to a 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Election Commission of India and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, an organization connected to Soros’s foundation and primarily funded by USAID.
Malviya highlighted the cancellation of the program by the US Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, citing its cost of $21 million specifically allocated for “voter turnout” in India. He asserted this constituted external interference benefiting the opposition Congress party.
The BJP’s statement comes amid broader accusations of foreign influence in Indian politics. The party criticized the Congress for what it calls a lack of transparency in the appointment of Election Commissioners while simultaneously accusing the Congress of handing over India’s electoral processes to “foreign operators.” The Congress party has yet to respond to these allegations.
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