The external affairs ministry Friday said that the alleged $21-million USAID grant to boost voter turnout in India was “deeply troubling” even as a newspaper report claimed the fund was for Bangladesh.

“We have seen information that has been put out by the US administration regarding certain USA activities and funding,” ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at the weekly media briefing.

“These are obviously very deeply troubling. This has led to concerns about foreign interference in India’s internal affairs. Relevant departments and agencies are looking into this matter.”

Jaiswal said it would be premature to make a public comment at this stage and the ministry may come up with an update in future.

Amid the political war of words over the grant, a newspaper report Friday claimed the $21 million was not for India but for Bangladesh.

The Indian Express report said that USAID sanctioned the grant in July 2022 for Bangladesh under a project titled Amar Vote Amar (My Vote is Mine). In November 2022, it modified the project’s purpose to “USAID’s Nagorik (Citizen) Program.”

Every USAID federal grant receives a specific place of performance and official US spending data confirmed no Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) project has received funding in India since 2008, per the Express report.

Former chief election commissioner (CEC) S.Y. Quraishi had also denied the US claim. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the CEPPS and the Election Commission during his tenure (2010-12), Quraishi wrote in a post on X on Wednesday.

The former CEC said that the Election Commission of India has never received monetary support from the CEPPS and that USAID funds were never used to boost voter turnout in India.

The $21-million grant claim from Donald Trump’s administration has sparked a political storm in India, with the government accusing the Opposition – and vice versa – of using foreign funds to interfere in India’s electoral process.

Earlier in the day, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of seeking foreign support to undermine Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

“It is worrisome that the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, who has taken an oath under the Constitution of India to preserve the integrity and sovereignty of our country, is indulging in anti-India activities and acting as a stimulus for anti-India forces to interfere in the pure electoral process of our country. He is taking the support of foreign forces to defeat PM Modi,” he said.

Bhatia alleged that Rahul Gandhi was intent on “giving India’s contract to” George billionaire George Soros and weakening the nation’s democratic framework.

On Thursday, Congress had asked if the BJP had won in 2014 and with the help of this USAID money and demanded that the government release a white paper. Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah had sought a clarification from the Election Commission saying that any form of foreign interference is unacceptable.

Earlier, Trinamul Congress MP Saket Gokhale alleged that the Modi government’s 2016 demonetisation drive was linked to USAID, claiming that the agency collaborated with the government to promote cashless transactions.

The disputed $21 million was part of a $486-million grant awarded to the CEPPS, which is a collective of nonprofits that was set up in 1995. It includes the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the International Republican Institute (IRI), and the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

Both the USAID and CEPPS websites are currently inaccessible.

According to reports, the NDI website indicated that it has no active programme in India, despite its engagement in several neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. The IRI website did not list any ongoing programme in India, although it is active in countries like Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.

The IFES, which operates in over 145 countries to “advance good governance and democratic rights,” said that it is not currently engaged in programming in India.