The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has raised questions over “foreign influence” and “deep state” ever since the newly constituted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the US, headed by billionaire Elon Musk, announced that the US would cancel the allocation of $21 million to improve voter turnout in India.
Because DOGE did not mention in its post on X which Indian body used to receive the funds, BJP’s ‘IT cell’ chief Amit Malviya and former minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar were among those who claimed that the money paved the way for the US to tamper with India’s electoral process.
BJP commentators drew attention to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2012 between the Election Commission and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, which was a partner of the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening to point fingers at Congress, which was in power at the Union government till 2014.
Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister Sanjeev Sanyal said, “Would love to find out who received the US$21mn spent to improve ‘voter turnout in India'”, adding that “USAID is the biggest scam in human history.”
USAID or the United States Agency for International Development was set up by John F. Kennedy as an independent agency of the US government to administer civilian foreign aid and development assistance globally.
However, fact-checkers like Mohammed Zubair (co-founder of AltNews) and one Aditya Ojha who posts on X under the handle @thispodcastguy have dug up a series of public posts by those in the Narendra Modi government, and its agencies and bodies, that go on to show that it worked pretty closely with USAID.
Zubair posted a tweet by the national broadcaster All India Radio, announcing a new partnership under the SAMRIDH initiative between USAID and NITI Aayog, the thinktank established by the Modi government. “It will improve access to affordable and quality healthcare for vulnerable populations in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and rural and tribal regions,” the AIR tweet said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the chairman of the NITI Aayog.
NITI Aayog head Amitabh Kant was quoted as having said that this model of “blended financing” has the potential to redefine development finance.
“Deep State Sir…. oh wait…,” wrote Zubair, referring to yet another 2022 tweet, this time by now Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Fadnavis said he was part of talks on collaborations “between USAID and MASHAV (Israeli Development Agency) in the development areas of agriculture, water, waste-water management in the state of Maharashtra.”
Zubair also pointed to a Reliance Foundation announcement of a joint effort with USAID to bridge the digital divide. “Over 3 lakh women and girls across 17 states in India are benefiting with support of 10 implementing partners of this initiative,” the Reliance Foundation said in its 2022 tweet.
One of Zubair’s most shared posts on the topic has been the screenshot of former BJP minister Smriti Irani speaking of the fact that she was the USAID ambassador in 2011.
Meanwhile, Aditya Ojha pointed out that Irani was a bit of a regular at USAID events even now and as recently as January 21.
Ojha pointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s own 2021 speech on his “dream” of seeing a tuberculosis-free India by 2025 (a deadline India will miss). As Ojha highlighted, the official release of the event noted that “representatives of Development Partners like BMGF and USAID were also present at the event.”
Ojha also unearthed a tweet by ANI from 2014, when Modi visited then US president Barack Obama in US and the USAID chief was one of the special invitees.
Ojha also dug up an official government press release from June 2023 recording an MoU signed between India and USAID. The meeting was chaired by Modi. The government portal says:
“The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today was apprised of signing of Memorandum of Understanding between India and United States for International Development/India (USAID/India) on June 14, 2023 for supporting Indian Railways to achieve Mission Net Zero Carbon Emission by 2030.”
It also notes: “Earlier, USAID/India had also worked with IR focused on deployment of rooftop solar across railway platforms.”
Ojha, who said he had “hundreds” of posts bookmarked also posted how the external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s son Dhruv recorded USAID assistance among steps announced by US government to assist India on COVID-19.
A video clip shared by journalist Umashankar Singh, of a former White House press secretary announcing USAID dispatches to India during COVID “at the request of the government of India” has been shared multiple times. The flights sent to India included oxygen, N-95 masks and tests. “These are all components that the Indian government has expressed a vital need for,” she is heard saying.
The assistance USAID provided India was more than $100 million, she says.