US President Donald Trump on Friday said that USAID gave $21 million to Prime Minister Narendra Modi “for voter turnout” a day after calling the funding a “kickback scheme”, his latest comment queering the pitch for the BJP.

All week, India’s ruling party had used statements coming out of the White House on the funding priorities of the aid agency — which Trump has moved to shut down — to target Rahul Gandhi and the Congress.

Addressing a Governors Working Session at the White House, Trump brought up, for the third day in a row, the subject of USAID funding to India to influence voter turnouts.

“And 21 million dollars going to my friend Prime Minister Modi in India for voter turnout. We’re giving $21 million for voter turnout in India. What about us? I want voter turnout too, Governor,” he said.

The day before, Trump had called the funding a “kickback scheme” after having earlier suggested that USAID had spent $21 million on voter turnout in India to “get someone else elected”.

Trump didn’t say who the “someone else” was. The BJP, which has in the past too charged the Congress with seeking foreign help to win elections, used his comments to accuse Rahul of weakening Indian democracy.

The Modi government has refused to say whether the money was received in India — either by the government or NGOs — even after The Indian Express reported the funding was not for India but for Bangladesh.

The Congress, which has been demanding a white paper on all the USAID funding that ever came to India, questioned the BJP’s silence on Trump’s latest remark after having treated his earlier statements as thegospel truth.

Amit Malviya, the BJP’s IT cell head, posted a previous video clip and said: “For the third day in a row, US President Donald Trump reiterates his claim about USAID funding efforts to promote voter turnout in India.” He quoted Trump but left out the Modi reference.

At a news conference, Congress media wing chairman Pawan Khera demanded that Modi “talk to his friend, US President Trump, and strongly refute the allegation on him that America was about to give $21 million to him and India for increasingvoter turnout”.

He asked that the RSS-BJP and its ecosystem be “named and shamed” and prosecuted for lying about “credible civil society members, NGOs, political parties” in relation to foreign funding.

Khera underlined that the first batch of USAID funds ($3,65,000) — for the purpose of “Democratic Participation and Civil Society” — had come at a time in 2012-13when the Anna Hazare movement was at its peak, Arvind Kejriwal was forminghis own party, and thenGujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was gearing to become the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.

“So, who benefited from these funds? Who got 282 seats in the Lok Sabha?” Khera said. He cited how “USAID started the Cashless India campaign in October 2016, a month before (Modi’s) demonetisation disaster....”

Khera also flagged the USAID “stamp” on “Modiji’s much-hyped SwachhBharat Abhiyan”.