'Works to create unrest': BJP MP Nishikant Dubey demands probe of USAID-funded outfits in India

Nishikant Dubey

Speaking during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, BJP Member of Parliament (MP) from Godda, Nishikant Dubey demanded that the Centre probe organisations funded by USAID in India, alleging that most such outfits worked to create unrest in the country and had links with the Congress party.

The MP claimed the USAID funded organisations carried out protests against the Agniveer initiative of the government, backed caste census, and supported naxalism in the country.

On January 20, 2025, his first day in office for a second term, US President Donald Trump put in place a 90-day freeze on foreign assistance. The executive order read: [There will be a] “90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance for assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy.

Several Congress members rose in protest against Dubey’s remarks and sought to raise a point of order in the Lok Sabha, but were disallowed by presiding officer Sandhya Ray who said such provisions do not apply to Zero Hour proceedings.

Dubey said US President Donald Trump has shut down USAID which spent money only to bring down governments all over the world. Later, Congress members met Speaker Om Birla to register their objections to Dubey being allowed to make unsubstantiated claims in the House.

USAID was established in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to counter Soviet engagement in developing countries. Its stated aim was to promote global social and economic development. “It’s a giant symbol of internationalism … of engaging with the rest of the world,” said Li Shuo, director of the China climate hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute. In the decades since, USAID has helped build American influence, said Sherri Goodman, secretary general of the International Military Council on Climate and Security.