Wed Feb 19 05:36:58 UTC 2025: **Trump Defends Cancellation of $21 Million US Grant for Indian Voter Turnout**
PALM BEACH, FL – Former US President Donald Trump has defended the US Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) decision to cancel a $21 million grant aimed at boosting voter turnout in India. The grant, part of a wider cancellation of international aid programs totaling over $89 million, was scrapped by DOGE, headed by Elon Musk, earlier this week.
Trump, speaking at his Mar-a-Lago residence, questioned the allocation of US taxpayer money to this initiative. “Why are we giving $21 million to India? They have a lot more money. Their tariffs are so high,” he stated, adding that he respected India and its Prime Minister but questioned the rationale behind the funding.
The DOGE’s announcement, published on X (formerly Twitter), listed several cancelled foreign assistance programs, citing them as excessive or unjustifiable. Alongside the India initiative, funding for political strengthening in Bangladesh ($29 million) and fiscal federalism/biodiversity conservation in Nepal ($39 million) were also cut.
In India, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has denounced the cancelled funding as external interference in India’s electoral process. BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya linked the initiative to billionaire George Soros, accusing him of influencing Indian politics through his Open Society Foundations. Malviya further criticized a 2012 Memorandum of Understanding between the Election Commission of India and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an organization with ties to Soros’s foundation, alleging undue foreign influence on India’s electoral system. He accused the Congress party of facilitating this foreign interference. The Congress party has yet to respond to these accusations.
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