NEW DELHI: Referring to the Union finance ministry annual report on USAID-funded projects in India, Congress on Monday claimed it has thoroughly exposed the government’s “falsehoods.” In response, the BJP accused the opposition party of defending “covert interference” by foreign donors attempting to destabilise India.
Amid the raging political row over the USAID’s alleged role in influencing Indian elections, the latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24 in partnership with the Government of India.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh posted on X: “None other than the Union finance ministry has thoroughly exposed the lies of the PM and his ‘jhoot’ brigade, including the External Affairs Minister.”
As stated in the finance ministry’s annual report for 2023-24, USAID is currently implementing seven projects in collaboration with the government of India, with a combined budget of approximately USD 750 million, he said. “Not one of these projects has to do with voter turnout. All of them are with and through the Union government,” Ramesh said.
BJP IT department head Amit Malviya hit back, saying the desperation of the Congress and its ecosystem to deflect from the controversial USAID funds routed through various “George Soros-linked fronts and a labyrinth of NGO to meddle with India’s electoral process is a dead giveaway”. It is now obvious who the beneficiaries are, Malviya said on X.
He said the USAID projects in question are official government-to-government partnerships, transparently executed as Externally Aided Projects.
The Centre simply channels these funds to states for development, which is well within the framework of cooperative federalism, he said, adding, the projects cited in the report date back to 2010-11.