New Delhi, 23 February 2025 — Amid controversy over alleged USAID funding for voter turnout in India, the Congress on Sunday accused the BJP of spreading “fake news from America” and engaging in “anti-national work.”
The party also demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar over their silence on repeated remarks by former US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, which Congress claims have “insulted” India.
“The BJP is a procession of liars and illiterates,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said. “The news about USD 21 million, which the BJP and their bootlickers were jumping on, turned out to be fake. This amount was never meant for India but for Bangladesh.”
Ramesh claimed that Elon Musk’s statement, Trump’s confusion between Dhaka and Delhi, and BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya’s amplification of the claim fueled misinformation.
“Ever since the US Department of Government Ethics (DOGE) stated on February 16 that USAID had canceled this funding, the BJP has been making fabricated allegations against the Congress,” he said in a post on X.
He clarified that the controversy stemmed from two USAID grants disbursed through the Washington-based Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS).
“According to DOGE, the funds included USD 22 million for Moldova and USD 21 million for India. However, the USAID grant marked for India was actually for Bangladesh, not India,” he said.
Providing further details, Ramesh noted that USD 13.4 million of the Bangladesh earmark had already been disbursed before the country’s January 2024 elections. “Every federal grant specifies the country it is allocated to. There have been no USAID-funded CEPPS projects in India since 2008,” he added.
“The BJP must answer why it spread fake news about India’s democracy,” Ramesh demanded. “If accusing an opposition party based on fake American news isn’t treason, then what is it?”
Ramesh also questioned the Modi government’s silence on Trump and Musk’s statements. “Trump has now repeated this claim four times. Why is Modi not refuting it? Is India’s self-respect being sacrificed to protect Adani’s interests?” he alleged.
The BJP dismissed Congress’s allegations, calling Rahul Gandhi a “traitor” who seeks foreign intervention to undermine India.
