Misleading claims made by both US President Donald Trump and his close aide and billionaire Elon Musk about USAID funds have created a political storm in India. The ultra-right-wing government in the country is using those false claims to target India’s main opposition party accusing it of using foreign interference to win elections.
The opposition was able to put the facts in front of the public in time, turning the political embarrassment around on the ruling party. The episode once again established the unreliability of the Trump administration, apart from exposing the true nature of USAID.
On February 16, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) headed by Musk announced the cancellation of USD 21 million aid meant for “voter turnout” in India. On two occasions Trump cited the cancellation claiming that India does not need the money as it is very rich. He reiterated his claims about India being a high tariff nation, where it is impossible for the US to sell anything. He went as far as accusing India of taking “advantage” of the US.
Some BJP leaders used DOGE’s claims and Trump’s announcements to accuse the opposition of using foreign funding to influence elections in the country, calling it “external interference in India’s electoral process.”
Soon, media and social media was abuzz about how the main opposition party Indian National Congress (INC) has been using foreign support against the Indian government.
India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar pushed the narrative claiming that the opposition and civil society groups in the country may have used the US funds for bad purposes. He called Trump’s allegations as “concerning and worrisome” underlining that his government is “looking into” the matter, as if to legitimize the attacks on the opposition.
While targeting the opposition on USAID, Jainshankar ignored his own ministry which, in its annual report for 2023-24 mentions in detail about ongoing collaboration between the government of India and USAID.
BJP spreads misinformation while concealing ties to USAID and Adani
On February 22, an Indian Express investigation established that there has been no election related funding to India by USAID since 2008 and the amount mentioned by Musk and Trump was for Bangladesh.
The INC has since claimed that it was actually BJP which, when it was in opposition, used foreign funds including USAID to destabilize different central governments. INC member Jairam Ramesh has alleged that BJP deliberately used fake news spread by Trump and Musk for political reasons to target the country’s main opposition party, calling the act nothing short of “treason.”
He also accused the BJP of failing to respond to Trump’s repeated insults of India, suggesting that its silence may be related to the BJP-led government seeking favors or relief for Adani.
Adani, a close ally to Modi and one of the biggest corporate houses in India, and some of his associates have been accused of fraud for obtaining funds from the US. Arrest warrants have been issued against them.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat thanked the Indian Express for bringing the facts to the public which proved that both Trump and Musk were lying. She cautioned the media and political leaders about relying on the statements made by the present US administration.
Karat also accused the Modi government of deliberately using Trump’s lies to accuse the Indian opposition in an attempt to spread misinformation and discredit the opposition. The Modi government’s acts put India’s image in jeopardy, she claimed.
USAID’s checkered history
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) was formed in 1961. It has been one of the central agencies to fund various projects across the globe with a primary objective of promoting the US’s foreign policy interests.
Apart from funding development projects, such as in health sectors in poorer and developing countries, the agency has been repeatedly accused of interfering in local politics. It has been accused of being a means of indirect funding of regime change programs in countries with governments opposed to imperialist interventions.
The Trump administration decided to shut down USAID and now talks of merging it with the state department as a part of its attempts to cut the size of the federal government spending and reduce “wasteful expenditure.” Musk and Trump also claim that the agency is inefficient and has failed to promote the core of its agenda of furthering US interests.
The agency has “long strayed from its original mission of responsibly advancing American interests abroad” and most of the funds are not used to further the “core national interests,” the US State Department said in a post on X earlier this month.
Recent statements by Trump indicate that his administration is looking to pursue a more direct approach to push for US interests worldwide instead of relying on agencies such as USAID. The agency has, anyway, been accused of following a “liberal” approach to foreign policy.
Since assuming power, Trump has threatened several countries in the world of either direct interventions or outright occupation. Trump has threatened the overtaking of Panama, Gaza and Canada, as well as interventions in various other countries if they act contrary to US interests.
