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By painting the opposition, especially the Congress party, as being sold out to foreign powers, the BJP, for once and for all, wants to settle the national interest issue
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claimed that the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) funding was proof of ‘external interference in India’s electoral process’. (File photo/AP)
The government is in no mood to let the opposition dodge the foreign donations controversy. Action can be expected soon, a senior ministry official told CNN-News18.
The opposition and government are engaged in a war of words over the “USAID” and “George Soros” issues. Sources told CNN-News18 that the United States and India have exchanged a mammoth list, which includes names of NGOs, influencers, journalists, scholars, and think tanks. The governments in both countries are perusing the list and will act upon the details of transactions soon.
The US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has cancelled a $21 million US taxpayer-funded grant, under former President Joe Biden’s administration, meant to influence “voter turnout in India”. In its announcement, DOGE highlighted that the $21 million was part of a larger $486 million budget allocated to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening”.
US President Donald Trump defended the cancellation, raising questions over why voter turnout needs foreign funding. “Why are we giving $21 million to India? They have a lot more money. They are one of the highest taxing countries in the world in terms of US; we can hardly get in there because their tariffs are so high. I have a lot of respect for India and their prime minister, but giving $21 million for voter turnout?…”
The Narendra Modi government is preparing to first cancel the FCRA licences of the NGOs on the list. The government feels that many such NGOs have been undeservedly given FCRA clearance.
It is also planning to send questionnaires to some of the people on the USAID list to ask them to account for transactions and foreign earnings, as well as foreign travel.
But these files go into many pages and mammoth transactions. This, as per government sources, will take some time, and no action can be taken in a hurry. But politically, it’s a weapon that the BJP won’t give up easily.
In the budget session of Parliament, the BJP went to the extent of linking Sonia Gandhi to a Soros-funded body. The BJP is making the point that through some shady USAID deals, the opposition, especially the Congress, allowed and opened the way for foreign interference and activity in the Indian political fabric and electoral process.
By painting the opposition, especially the Congress party, as being sold out to foreign powers, the BJP, for once and for all, wants to settle the national interest issue. In the years to come, the BJP hopes to keep the USA and the foreign donations issue alive by projecting Rahul Gandhi and the Congress as a political entity wanting to sell the country out. The stronger this narrative gets, the stronger the BJP feels it becomes on the national interest platform.
