Ever since the Trump administration’s DOGE said on February 16 that USAID has cancelled the USD 21 million funding for “voting in India”, the BJP has been making fabricated allegations against the Congress, Ramesh said in his post in Hindi on X.”But now it is coming to light that this entire news is fake. When the money has not even reached India, then what would be the cancellation?” he said.The controversy is actually about two USAID grants on DOGE’s list that were given through the Washington-based Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS), the Congress leader said.The CEPPS was supposed to receive a total of USD 486 million from USAID, he said, adding that according to DOGE, the funds included USD 22 million for Moldova and USD 21 million for “voter turnout in India”, he said.”The first fund USAID gave to CEPPS for Moldova was in 2016 with the ID AID117LA1600001. But the USAID USD 21 million grant for India marked by DOGE is completely fake. Because it was for Bangladesh, not India,” he claimed.And the reality is that of the USD 21 million earmarked for Bangladesh, USD 13. 4 million has already been disbursed before the January 2024 elections, Ramesh said.”Every federal grant specifies the country in which it is to be used. According to US federal spending, there have been no USAID-funded CEPPS projects in India since 2008. The only ongoing USD 21 million USAID grant to CEPPS, ID 72038822LA00001, was approved in July 2022 for Bangladesh’s ‘Amar Vote Amar’ (My Vote Is Mine),” he pointed out.
Source link
