New Delhi: BJP leader Amit Malviya has accused The Indian Express of misrepresenting facts regarding USAID funding and alleged foreign interference in India’s electoral process. In a strongly worded statement, Malviya claimed that the media report on a $21 million USAID grant to Bangladesh in 2022 intentionally overlooked previous foreign funding mechanisms aimed at influencing Indian elections.
According to Malviya, the report “conveniently sidesteps” a 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Election Commission of India—then under Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi—and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an organization with ties to George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, primarily funded by USAID.
"The article misrepresents the reference to a $21 million funding tranche intended to ‘promote’ voter turnout in India," Malviya stated. He further alleged that IFES, along with USAID and other international organizations, played a role in influencing India’s electoral process through various funding channels since 2014. FAKE NEWS ALERT 🚨‼️
The Indian Express story discusses $21 million in funding to Bangladesh in 2022. However, the article misrepresents the reference to a $21 million funding tranche intended to ‘promote’ voter turnout in India.
What Indian Express conveniently sidesteps is… pic.twitter.com/niOaWXivm5
Allegations of Foreign Influence in India’s Elections
Malviya highlighted that details of such funding were once publicly available through annual filings on the now-defunct website of the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS). He described CEPPS as a subset of IFES, working closely with USAID, the U.S. State Department, George Soros’s Open Society Foundation, and other global entities.
Furthermore, Malviya pointed to an IFES white paper on the role of Dalits in Indian elections, arguing that its language closely mirrors the rhetoric used by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on themes of representation, participation, and influence.
Congress Accused of Enabling Institutional Infiltration
Expanding his criticism, Malviya alleged that the Congress-led UPA government systematically facilitated the infiltration of India’s institutions by external forces aiming to undermine the nation’s sovereignty. “It is becoming increasingly clear that the Congress-led UPA enabled forces that seek to weaken India at every opportunity,” he asserted.
He also suggested that elements within India’s civil society were increasingly “rattled” by these revelations and feared further exposure of their alleged links to foreign funding. “Their fear is real. The radical Left will strike back with the desperation of a snake writhing in the sand. Expect more attempts to discredit and deflect from these revelations—just like this one.”
Political Storm Intensifies
Malviya’s remarks come amidst an ongoing political controversy over allegations of foreign funding in India’s electoral process. While the Congress party has dismissed the BJP’s claims as baseless, the debate continues to escalate, with both sides accusing each other of distorting facts to serve their political narratives.
As the controversy unfolds, the issue of foreign involvement in India’s democratic institutions is likely to remain a contentious subject in the run-up to the upcoming elections.
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