MIAMI (Diya TV) — President Trump criticized a $21 million grant allocated by the previous administration to boost voter turnout in India, suggesting it was an attempt to influence the country’s elections. Speaking at the FII Priority Summit in Miami on Wednesday, Trump questioned the necessity of such expenditure, stating, “Why do we need to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected.”
This comes after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, announced the cancellation of over $750 million in international aid, including the $21 million designated for India. The decision is part of a broader effort to reduce federal spending.
In a related statement at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, Trump questioned the allocation of funds to India, citing the country’s economic status and trade policies. “Why are we giving $21 million to India? They have a lot more money. They are one of the highest-taxing countries in the world in terms of us; we can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high,” he said.
The cancellation has sparked reactions in India. Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, questioned the allocation and called for transparency regarding the recipients of the funds. He stated, “Would love to find out who received the US$21mn spent to improve ‘voter turnout in India’. USAID is the biggest scam in human history.”
Former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi refuted claims of U.S. funding aimed at increasing voter turnout in India. He said, “The report in a section of media about an MoU by ECI in 2012 when I was CEC, for funding of certain million dollars by a US agency for raising voter turnout in India does not have an iota of fact.”
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also weighed in, questioning the intent behind the funding and labeling it as “external interference in India’s electoral process.”
The DOGE’s decision to cut the $21 million grant is part of a larger initiative to reduce international aid expenditures, with the department having already cut $8.5 billion in federal spending since its inception.
