Official report exposes govt's 'lies', says Congress; BJP accuses it of defending 'covert interference'

New Delhi, Feb 24 (PTI) The Congress on Monday cited a Union Finance Ministry report on the USAID-funded projects in India to claim that it has thoroughly exposed the government's "lies", prompting the BJP to accuse the opposition party of defending "covert interference" by foreign donors seeking to destabilise India's democracy.

Amid a raging political controversy over USAID's alleged role in influencing Indian elections, the latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24 in partnership with the government of India.

Siezing on the information, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said on X, "None other than the Union Finance Ministry has thoroughly exposed the lies of the PM and his 'jhoot' brigade, including his dapper External Affairs Minister." As stated in the finance ministry's annual report for 2023-24, USAID is currently implementing seven projects in collaboration with the government of India, with a combined budget of approximately USD 750 million, he said.

"Not a single of these projects has to do with voter turnout. All of them are with and through the Union government," Ramesh said.

BJP IT department head Amit Malviya hit back, claiming that the desperation of the Congress and its ecosystem to deflect from the controversial USAID funding routed through various "George Soros-linked fronts and a labyrinth of NGO structures to meddle with India's electoral process is a dead giveaway".

It is now obvious who the beneficiaries are, Malviya said on X.

He said the USAID projects in question are official government-to-government partnerships, transparently executed as Externally Aided Projects (EAPs).

The Centre simply channels these funds to states for development, which is well within the framework of cooperative federalism, he added.

The projects cited in the finance ministry's 2023-24 report (uploaded in July 2024) trace their origins back to 2010-11, Malviya said, adding that this is not new as even the 2014-15 report confirms the same.

He said the question is why the Congress is defending covert interference by foreign donors and organisations linked to George Soros and which seek to destabilise Indian democracy under the guise of philanthropy.

"India's sovereignty is not up for sale. Let us drop the selective amnesia and political theatrics. Facts matter. India's governance will not be dictated by foreign agents masquerading as benefactors," Malviya said.

For the financial year 2023-24, an obligation of a total of USD 97 million (about Rs 825 crore) has been made by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) under the seven projects, the ministry report said.

The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the finance ministry, which is the nodal department for bilateral funding arrangements, has also shared the details of projects funded in 2023-24 in the report.

During the year, no funding was made for enhancing voter turnout but to projects related to agriculture and food security programme; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); renewable energy; disaster management and health.

A political controversy erupted in the country earlier this month after the Elon Musk-led DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) said that it had cancelled a USD 21 million grant to India to boost 'voter turnout'.

US President Donald Trump also repeatedly claimed that USAID under the previous administration led by Joe Biden allocated USD 21 million in funding to India for 'voter turnout'.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the information put out by the Trump administration is "concerning" and the government is looking into it.

The USAID was allowed in India "in good faith, to do good faith activities", and suggestions are being made out of the US that "there are activities which are in bad faith", Jaishankar said. PTI ASK KR ARI ARI

Source: PTI