News Brief
Jaishankar Flags Concerns Over Alleged USAID Funding To Influence Indian Elections
EAM S Jaishankar
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has expressed concern regarding the information from the United States that millions of dollars were sent to India with the alleged intent of influencing electoral processes.
The matter gained attention after US President Donald Trump alleged that $21 million had been allocated for "voter turnout" in India by USAID.
Speaking at the Delhi University Literature Festival, Jaishankar highlighted how security threats have evolved.
He noted that people can be influenced without stepping outside their homes, as their thought processes, narratives, morale, and sense of right and wrong are shaped by the content they consume daily on their phones.
"Your security can be threatened without you leaving your house because the thought processes, the influences, the narratives, your morale, your sense of what is right and wrong, are all influenced by your phone, what you read every day, the pictures you see," Jaishankar said at the Delhi University Literature Festival, NDTV reported.
"... I think some information has been put out there by the Trump administration people and obviously that is concerning," the External Affairs Minister said.
"It would suggest that there are activities which have a certain objective out there, to push a narrative or a viewpoint. As a government we are looking into it because such organisations have an obligation to report. And my sense is, the facts will come out," Jaishankar said.
He was alluding to the announcement by President Trump that the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) posted a list of cancelled US taxpayer-funded initiatives with a mention of $21 million earmarked for "voter turnout in India."
"And if there is something to it, I think the country should know who are the people involved in the bad faith activities," Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar’s remarks came amid BJP's call for an investigation into the alleged $21 million US funding for voter turnout in India.
The party alleged that the money had been utilised to sustain "deep state assets" within the country.
On Thursday, President Trump reiterated his doubts about the US government’s allocation of the $21 million, referring to it as a "kickback scheme."
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other security and financial agencies have begun preliminary steps to identify Indian entities and individuals suspected of acting as intermediaries for the now-cancelled USAID funding, which aimed to influence voter turnout, according to a report by news agency IANS.
According to the reports, non-profits, social workers, media firms, and business entities are under the ED's scanner over alleged violation of anti-money laundering laws in a transnational conspiracy.
