ASIATODAY.ID, DHAKA – The $21 million in American taxpayer money earmarked for “voter turnout in India,” which was recently canceled by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was actually allocated to Bangladesh, according to an investigative report published by The Indian Express on Friday.
The media outlet claimed it had gained access to the funding records and learned that the allocation had been made by USAID in 2022, with $13.4 million already disbursed for “political and civic engagement” among students before the January 2024 elections in Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign in August following massive student-led protests that left hundreds dead.
Earlier this month, DOGE released a list of items that have been scrapped as part of its cost-cutting initiative. It included money given to the US-based Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS). The list featured a $21 million program aimed at “boosting voter turnout in India,” $29 million in aid to “strengthen the political landscape in Bangladesh,” and $20 million for “fiscal federalism” in Nepal, among other programs. The names of the beneficiaries, as well as the total amount spent on these initiatives, were not disclosed.
In response, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claimed that the funding was proof of “external interference” in India’s election process. Authorities are looking into “deeply troubling” information about US governmental activity in the country, the Indian foreign ministry stated on Friday.
US President Donald Trump later mentioned the funding for “voter turnout” in India in several public speeches. “Why do we need to spend $21 million for voter turnout in India? Wow, $21 million! I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected,” he said during a speech in Miami on Wednesday. The next day, he repeated the claim at a Republican Governors Association (RGA) meeting, alleging the funding was practically meant for “kickbacks” to those who allocated the money.
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However, according to The Indian Express, CEPPS was set to receive a total of $486 million from USAID, with specific allocations including $22 million for an “inclusive and participatory political process” in Moldova and $21 million for “voter turnout,” initially listed as being for India but actually intended for Bangladesh.
The $21 million grant was divided into six sub-grants between July of 2022 and October of 2024, with two sub-grants each allocated to three CEPPS member organizations: the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the International Republican Institute (IRI), and the National Democratic Institute (NDI). The uncovered files show that the IRI spent millions of dollars leading up to Hasina’s overthrow, secretly training opposition parties and creating a network focused on regime change, primarily among urban youth in Bangladesh.
In September of last year, GreyZone reported that leaked documents reviewed by the outlet showed that USAID had engaged in activities aimed at “destabilizing Bangladesh politics.”
The documents were marked “confidential and/or privileged,” GreyZone said, adding that the IRI, a Republican Party-run subsidiary, was explicitly tasked with this operation. However, The Dhaka Tribune, a Bangladeshi outlet, later refuted the outlet’s report, arguing that the data used in the story had been “doctored.”
Earlier this month, Mike Benz, a former State Department official, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, alleged that USAID funded last year’s regime change in Bangladesh due to Hasina’s opposition to a US military base in the region.
Hasina has personally accused Washington of attempting to oust her from power because she had refused to allow the base. The US State Department denied these allegations at the time, with spokesman Vedant Patel calling them “laughable” and stating that any implication of US involvement in stirring the unrest which prompted Hasina to leave office is “absolutely false.” (RT)
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