New Delhi, February 21, 2025: Despite widespread reports, neither Elon Musk, chief of the United States Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) nor US President Donald Trump has provided evidence that USAID (United States Agency for International Development) gave India $21m for voter turnout.
The Election Commission of India has not responded, but former chief election commissioner SY Qureshi on Sunday denied receiving such funding during his tenure, which ran from 2010 to 2012.
“The report in a section of Media about an MoU by ECI in 2012 when I was CEC , for funding of certain million dollars by a US
agency for raising voter turnout in India does not have an iota of fact . 1/2— Dr. S.Y. Quraishi (@DrSYQuraishi) February 16, 2025
Yes , there was a MOU with IFES in 2012 when I was CEC like we had with many other agencies and Election Management Bodies to facilitate training for desirous countries at ECI ‘s training and resource centre, IIIDEM , which was very new at that stage . 2/4
— Dr. S.Y. Quraishi (@DrSYQuraishi) February 16, 2025
There was no financing or even promise of finance involved in MoU, forget X or Y amount. The MoU in fact made it clear in black and white that there would be no financial and legal obligation of any kind on either side side.
3/4— Dr. S.Y. Quraishi (@DrSYQuraishi) February 16, 2025
4/4
This stipulation was made at two different places to leave no scope for any ambiguity. Any mention of any funds in connection with this MoU is completely false and malicious. “
S Y Quraishi
Former Chief Election Commissioner of India— Dr. S.Y. Quraishi (@DrSYQuraishi) February 16, 2025
— Dr. S.Y. Quraishi (@DrSYQuraishi) February 17, 2025
Earlier, BJP IT head Amit Malviya claimed that in 2012, under Mr Qureshi, the Election Commission signed an agreement with a group linked to George Soros’ foundation – primarily funded by USAID – to support a voter turnout campaign.
The Congress, on the other hand, has accused the BJP of making baseless allegations against opposition parties without fact-checking.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress’s communications in-charge, has demanded a White Paper detailing USAID’s support to Indian institutions over the years.
On Friday, the Indian Express newspaper said in an investigative report that the $21m was sanctioned for Bangladesh and not India.
That $21 million, records accessed by The Indian Express show, was sanctioned in 2022 for Bangladesh, not India.
Of this, $13.4 million has already been disbursed, ostensibly for “political and civic engagement” among Bangladesh students in the run-up to the January 2024 elections and projects that put a question mark on the integrity of these elections — seven months before the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.
It was meant to run for three years until July 2025 and that $13.4m had already been spent, according to records accessed by the newspaper.
Input with BBC
