{"id":64592,"date":"2025-02-16T06:28:52","date_gmt":"2025-02-16T06:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/?p=64592"},"modified":"2025-02-16T06:28:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T06:28:52","slug":"elon-musks-doge-flags-21-million-for-voter-turnout-in-india-bjp-responds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/?p=64592","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk&#8217;s DOGE Flags $21 Million For &#8220;Voter Turnout In India&#8221;, BJP Responds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The United States Department of Government Efficiency (<a class=\"sp_lnk2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/topic\/doge\" target=\"_blank\">DOGE<\/a>), led by <a class=\"sp_lnk2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/topic\/elon-musk\" target=\"_blank\">Elon Musk<\/a>, has cancelled a $21 million US taxpayer-funded grant &#8211; under former President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration &#8211; meant to influence &#8220;voter turnout in India.&#8221; In its announcement, DOGE highlighted that the $21 million was part of a larger $486 million budget allocated to the &#8220;Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Another $29 million was slated for &#8220;strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh&#8221; &#8211; a country that witnessed political turmoil amid allegations of US &#8216;deep state&#8217; involvement in the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Musk-led department revealed that other taxpayer-funded projects also faced the axe, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>$47 million for &#8220;improving learning outcomes in Asia&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>$40 million for a &#8220;gender equality and women empowerment hub&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>$32 million to the Prague Civil Society Centre<\/li>\n<li>$22 million to foster an &#8220;inclusive and participatory political process&#8221; in Moldova.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>$20 million for &#8220;fiscal federalism&#8221; in Nepal<\/li>\n<li>$19 million for &#8220;biodiversity conservation&#8221; in Nepal<\/li>\n<li>$14 million for &#8220;social cohesion&#8221; in Mali<\/li>\n<li>$14 million for &#8220;improving public procurement&#8221; in Serbia<\/li>\n<li>$10 million for &#8220;Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>$9.7 million for UC Berkeley to develop &#8220;a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise-driven skills&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>$2.5 million for &#8220;inclusive democracies in Southern Africa&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>$2.3 million for &#8220;strengthening independent voices in Cambodia&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>$2 million to develop &#8220;sustainable recycling models&#8221; to &#8220;increase socio-economic cohesion among marginalised communities of Kosovo Roma, Ashkali, and Egypt&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>$1.5 million for &#8220;voter confidence&#8221; in Liberia<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all which have been cancelled:<br \/>\n&#8211; $10M for &#8220;Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision&#8221;<br \/>\n&#8211; $9.7M for UC Berkeley to develop &#8220;a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills&#8221;<br \/>\n&#8211; $2.3M for &#8220;strengthening\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DOGE\/status\/1890849405932077378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The sweeping cancellations, Mr Musk&#8217;s department stated, were part of efforts to improve government efficiency and ensure taxpayer dollars were not being spent on &#8220;questionable&#8221; overseas political activities.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>BJP&#8217;s &#8220;External Interference&#8221; Response<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The BJP termed the now-cancelled funding &#8220;external interference&#8221; in India&#8217;s electoral process.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;$21M for voter turnout? This definitely is external interference in India&#8217;s electoral process. Who gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure!&#8221; said BJP national spokesperson Amit Malviya in a statement\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mr Malviya further alleged &#8220;systematic infiltration&#8221; of Indian institutions by foreign forces, particularly targeting billionaire investor and philanthropist <a class=\"sp_lnk2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/topic\/george-soros\">George Soros<\/a> and his alleged network of global influence through his Open Society Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Once again, it is George Soros, a known associate of the Congress party and the Gandhis, whose shadow looms over our electoral process,&#8221; Mr Malviya claimed.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Once again, it is George Soros, a known associate of the Congress party and the Gandhis, whose shadow looms over our electoral process.<\/p>\n<p>In 2012, under the leadership of S.Y. Quraishi, the Election Commission signed an MoU with The International Foundation for Electoral\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PO13Iyroee\">https:\/\/t.co\/PO13Iyroee<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gdgAQoDbPh\">pic.twitter.com\/gdgAQoDbPh<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/amitmalviya\/status\/1890989529781215669?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He also flagged the controversial 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Election Commission of India and The International Foundation for Electoral Systems, an organisation linked to Mr Soros&#8217;s Open Society Foundation, which is primarily funded by USAID &#8211; the American federal body that oversees foreign aid and is facing massive budget cuts under Donald Trump&#8217;s presidency.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Ironically, those questioning the transparent and inclusive process of appointing India&#8217;s Election Commissioner-a first in our democracy, where previously the Prime Minister alone made the decision-had no hesitation in handing over the entire Election Commission of India to foreign operators,&#8221; Mr Malviya added.<\/p>\n<p>According to Mr Malviya, the Congress-led UPA government &#8220;systematically enabled the infiltration of India&#8217;s institutions by forces opposed to the nation&#8217;s interests-those who seek to weaken India at every opportunity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The BJP alleges that foreign-backed civil society organisations and NGOs, particularly those linked to Mr Soros, have been working to influence Indian politics.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Bangladesh Situation\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The announcement that $29 million was marked for &#8220;strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh&#8221; comes just days after <a class=\"sp_lnk2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/world-news\/no-role-for-deep-state-leave-it-to-pm-narendra-modi-says-donald-trump-on-bangladesh-crisis-7711092\" target=\"_blank\">President Trump addressed allegations of &#8216;deep state&#8217; <\/a>involvement in the recent political developments in Bangladesh. Asked during a joint press briefing with PM Modi whether the previous Biden administration had orchestrated a regime change, President Trump denied any such involvement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There was no role for our deep state. This is something the Prime Minister has been working on for a long time, for hundreds of years, frankly. I have been reading about it. I will leave Bangladesh to the Prime Minister,&#8221; President Trump said.<\/p>\n<p>The response has done little to quell speculation. The ousting of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the subsequent rise of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as the country&#8217;s interim leader have fueled claims of US-backed political manoeuvring.<\/p>\n<p>Since Ms Hasina&#8217;s departure, diplomatic tensions between India and Bangladesh have escalated. Delhi has raised concerns about increasing attacks on religious minorities under the new regime.<\/p>\n<p>\u200bThe United States Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has cancelled a $21 million US taxpayer-funded grant &#8211; under former President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration &#8211; meant to influence &#8220;voter turnout in India.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The United States Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has cancelled a $21 million US<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":64593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1r4gj5l8_voting-generic_625x300_22_December_24-8Ed90m.jpeg",1600,1006,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1r4gj5l8_voting-generic_625x300_22_December_24-8Ed90m-150x150.jpeg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1r4gj5l8_voting-generic_625x300_22_December_24-8Ed90m-300x189.jpeg",300,189,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1r4gj5l8_voting-generic_625x300_22_December_24-8Ed90m-768x483.jpeg",640,403,true],"large":["https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1r4gj5l8_voting-generic_625x300_22_December_24-8Ed90m-1024x644.jpeg",640,403,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1r4gj5l8_voting-generic_625x300_22_December_24-8Ed90m-1536x966.jpeg",1536,966,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1r4gj5l8_voting-generic_625x300_22_December_24-8Ed90m.jpeg",1600,1006,false],"morenews-large":["https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1r4gj5l8_voting-generic_625x300_22_December_24-8Ed90m-825x575.jpeg",825,575,true],"morenews-medium":["https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/1r4gj5l8_voting-generic_625x300_22_December_24-8Ed90m-590x410.jpeg",590,410,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/?author=0"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/?cat=1\" rel=\"category\">Uncategorized<\/a>","tag_info":"Uncategorized","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=64592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/64593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=64592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=64592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alertindianews.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=64592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}