US President Donald Trump on February 19, once again, asked why his administration needs to send $21 million to India for voter turnout and wondered if it was to “get someone else elected”.
"... Why do we need to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian Government... This is a total breakthrough," Trump said while addressing the FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami, Florida.
Trump had previously too raised questions on the need to provide monetary support to India to increase voter turnout during elections. He had said that India has a growing economy and has a “lot of money” due to high taxes.
"Why are we giving $21 million to India? They got 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," Trump said at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on February 18.
His remarks came following the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) decision to cancel $21 million fund marked for 'Voter Turnout in India'.
On February 16, DOGE - led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk - posted a list of cancelled US taxpayer-funded initiatives with a mention of $21 million earmarked for "voter turnout in India".
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