The United States Agency for International Development did not provide $21 million in funding for voter turnout in India, the Ministry of External Affairs told Parliament on Thursday, countering claims made by President Donald Trump in February.

Citing a July 2 communication, the ministry said the US embassy had clarified that USAID had not carried out any voter turnout-related activities in India.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the ministry also stated that the US Embassy had said on July 29 that all USAID operations in India would be brought to a close by August 15.

USAID is an independent agency that is mainly responsible for administering foreign aid and development assistance on behalf of the US government.

On February 19, US President Donald Trump said he “guessed” that the previous administration was “trying to get somebody else elected” in India by having allegedly provided $21 million “for voter turnout”.

The US president, on February 21, repeated his allegations that $21 million in funding was given by the USAID for “voter turnout” in India, claiming this time that this money went to “my friend Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi”.

However, a report published by The Indian Express on the same day said that this funding was for Bangladesh, not India.

Nevertheless, Trump’s statements sparked a row between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition Congress, with both parties accusing the other of being the beneficiary of the purported funding.

In February, the finance ministry, in its annual report for 2023-’24, noted that USAID implemented seven projects in India in partnership with the Centre during the year.

None of them, however, was related to voter turnout. The projects pertained to agriculture and food security, water, sanitation and hygiene, renewable energy, disaster management and health.

The United States began bilateral development assistance to India in 1951, primarily through USAID. Since then, USAID has contributed over $17 billion to India across more than 555 projects in various sectors.

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