Official report exposes govt's lies, says Cong
The Congress on Monday cited a Union Finance Ministry report on the USAID-funded projects in India to claim that it has thoroughly exposed the government's "lies", prompting the BJP to accuse the opposition party of defending "covert interference" by foreign donors seeking to destabilise India's democracy.
New Delhi : The Congress on Monday cited a Union Finance Ministry report on the USAID-funded projects in India to claim that it has thoroughly exposed the government's "lies", prompting the BJP to accuse the opposition party of defending "covert interference" by foreign donors seeking to destabilise India's democracy.
Amid a raging political controversy over USAID's alleged role in influencing Indian elections, the latest annual report of the finance ministry has disclosed that the agency funded seven projects worth USD 750 million in 2023-24 in partnership with the government of India. Seizing on the information, Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said on X, "None other than the Union Finance Ministry has thoroughly exposed the lies of the PM and his 'jhoot' brigade, including his dapper External Affairs Minister."
As stated in the finance ministry's annual report for 2023-24, USAID is currently implementing seven projects in collaboration with the government of India, with a combined budget of approximately USD 750 million, he said.
"Not a single of these projects has to do with voter turnout. All of them are with and through the Union government," Ramesh said. BJP IT department head Amit Malviya hit back, claiming that the desperation of the Congress and its ecosystem to deflect from the controversial USAID funding routed through various "George Soros-linked fronts and a labyrinth of NGO structures to meddle with India's electoral process is a dead giveaway". It is now obvious who the beneficiaries are, Malviya said on X.
