BJP and Congress clash over Trump’s comment on US$21 million Indian election aid

US President Donald Trump has sparked a political firestorm in New Delhi by suggesting a US$21 million aid to India approved by his predecessor Joe Biden was used to sway the country’s last election, fuelling accusations of foreign meddling by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

“Why do we need to spend US$21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian government ... This is a total breakthrough,” Trump said on Wednesday at an event in Miami.

Earlier this week, Trump questioned the allocation following the cancellation of a grant by the Department of Government Efficiency headed by tech billionaire Elon Musk. Last month, the president signed an order halting funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) pending a 90-day review.

“I have a lot of respect for India and their prime minister, but giving US$21 million for voter turnout? In India? What about voter turnout here?” Trump said.

Analysts said Trump’s criticism appeared to be directed at what his officials considered another example of wasteful spending of US taxpayers’ money by the Biden administration.

BJP lawmakers have seized on Trump’s comments as “smoking gun” evidence that the opposition Congress party had sought “external influence” to dislodge Indian Prime Narendra Modi from power in last year’s parliamentary elections.