Centre likely to probe US funding amid charge of meddling in polls

The government is likely to investigate groups that have received funds from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other foreign entities, with a focus on potential foreign interference in Indian elections. Sources said the probe might also examine whether such foreign funding violated the provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

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This development follows revelations by Elon Musk-led DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) that USAID contributed $21 million to the India’s Election Commission, allegedly to boost voter turnout. Earlier this week, the BJP demanded a probe into the matter. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Jethmalani flagged concerns in a post on X, stating, “DOGE has discovered that USAID allocated $21 million for voter turnout in India, a euphemism for paying voters to cast their votes to effect regime change. Veena Reddy was sent to India in 2021 as head of USAID’s Indian mission. After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections (presumably her voter turnout mission done), she returned to the US. Pity, because investigating agencies here could have questioned her about who received this money for voter turnout operations.”

This comes after former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi confirmed that the Election Commission had entered into an understanding with USAID. However, Quraishi clarified that the arrangement involved no funding from USAID, contradicting DOGE’s disclosure but potentially bolstering Elon Musk’s claims about the opacity of USAID’s funding and operations. Earlier, economist Sanjeev Sanyal, a member of the PM’s Economic Advisory Council, called USAID the “biggest scam in human history” and called for an investigation into its activities.

Earlier this month, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleged in Parliament that USAID had been funding organisations in India to create unrest in the country. He urged the Centre to initiate a probe into the matter, claiming that USAID-funded organisations had protested against the government’s Agniveer initiative, supported caste census demands, and even backed Naxalism.

He also pointed out that President Donald Trump shut down USAID on the grounds that it was “spending money only to make different governments across the world collapse”.