'USAID biggest scam in human history': Sanjeev Sanyal after Musk-led DOGE scraps $21M aid for 'voter turnout' in India

The BJP seeks to know who gained from the funds flagged by the DOGE

After the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said it had cancelled a $21-million grant to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) for “voter turnout in India”, Sanjeev Sanyal, an adviser to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, called USAID the “biggest scam in human history”.

US President Donald Trump recently hinted at the possibility of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) influencing India's Lok Sabha elections last year.

“Would love to find out who received the US$21mn spent to improve "voter turnout in India" and the US$29mn to "strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh"; not to mention the US$29mn spend to improve "fiscal federalism" in Nepal. USAID is the biggest scam in human history,” Sanyal posted on X.

In a post on X, DOGE, which is headed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, said: “US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all which have been cancelled.” One of the items mentioned was “$486M to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening,” including $22M for “inclusive and participatory political process” in Moldova and $21M for voter turnout in India.

His remarks followed denial from SY Quraishi, who headed the Election Commission of India during 2010-2012. Quarishi told NDTV, "The report in a section of media about an MoU by the 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."

Would love to find out who received the US$21mn spent to improve "voter turnout in India" and the US$29mn to "strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh"; not to mention the US$29mn spend to improve "fiscal federalism" in Nepal. USAID is the biggest scam in human history. pic.twitter.com/ccVHcnzWSj
Sanjeev Sanyal (@sanjeevsanyal) February 16, 2025

According to him, there was an MOU with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in 2012 for training facilities, like with many other agencies, but it did not involve any financing or promise of funds.

USAID, the largest humanitarian arm of the US government, has been the top target of the DOGE, which is executing the Trump crackdown to cut federal spending.

The BJP on Sunday claimed that a US-funded programme, now cancelled, linked to voter turnout in India is a pointer to the previous Congress-led UPA government allegedly enabling infiltration of Indian institutions by forces opposed to the country’s interests.

BJP’s IT department head Amit Malviya said on X, “It is becoming increasingly evident that the Congress-led UPA systematically enabled the infiltration of India’s institutions by forces opposed to the nation’s interests - those who seek to weaken India at every opportunity.”