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USAID Was Allowed Here In Good Faith: S Jaishankar On Voter Turnout Fund

It would suggest that there are activities which have a certain objective out there, to push a narrative or a viewpoint, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on the USAID row

USAID Fund Controversy

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has raised concerns over information from the US that millions of dollars were sent to India, allegedly to influence elections in India.

US President Donald Trump first raised the issue of alleged funding of $21 million for "voter turnout" in India, after he took over from former President Joe Biden.

"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," Mr Jaishankar said at the Delhi University Literature Festival.

"... 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," Mr Jaishankar said, 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."

"Now, I read saying so-and-so dealt with USAID or so-and-so. Look, it's not a question of do you deal with USAID or not. USAID was allowed - has been here historically. But USAID was allowed here in good faith, to do good faith activities. Suggestions are being made out of America that there are activities which are in bad faith. So, it surely warrants a look," he said.

"And if there is something to it, I think the country should know who are the people involved in the bad faith activities," Mr Jaishankar said.

The External Affairs Minister's comments come on a day the BJP sought an investigation into the alleged US funding of $21 million for voter turnout in India and "kickbacks". The BJP alleged the money was used to sustain "deep state assets" in India.

President Trump on Thursday also repeated his questioning of the US government's allocation of the $21 million, calling it a "kickback scheme".

The Enforcement Directorate and other security and financial agencies have started preliminary steps to identify Indian entities and individuals who served as conduits for receiving the now-scrapped USAID's $21 million to influence voter turnout, news agency IANS reported.

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, sources said.

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