A Rajya Sabha member from the Samajwadi Party on Monday said there was “something fishy” about the government’s silence on US President Donald Trump's claim that USAID had spent $21 million to influence voter turnout in India.
Ramji Lal Suman demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi clear the air on Trump's allegation, which saw the BJP and the Congress trading barbs last month.
“Trump is a friend of Modi. Why is the government silent on this issue? The Prime Minister should come to the House and clarify this issue. The government's silence shows there is something fishy,” the SP leader said.
Trump had last month said USAID had spent $21 million to influence voter turnout in India to “get somebody else elected”. He did not clarify who had received the money and when. The Congress had demanded a white paper on the issue while the BJP accused the Grand Old Party of seeking foreign help in elections.
Suman said the latest annual report of the finance ministry didn't mention any funds being shovelled by USAID for voter turnout in India and hinted at an intelligence failure.
“The finance ministry does not corroborate any funding for voter turnout. The Prime Minister has not spoken about it. What was our intelligence doing if USAID spent such an amount in India?” Suman said.
The finance ministry had in its latest annual report stated that USAID had funded seven projects worth $750 million in 2023-24 in partnership with the Indian government.
Opposition walkout
The Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha staged a walkout on Monday to protest the rejection of their notices for a discussion on the duplication of EPIC numbers.
