New Delhi, Feb 20 (IANS) Top analysts, politicians, diplomats and strategic affairs experts in India and its neighbourhood on Thursday backed US President Donald Trump's comments questioning the Biden administration's motive behind spending $21 million through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on voter turnout in India, $29M to "strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh" and $20M for "fiscal federalism" in Nepal. "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 speaking at the FII Priority Summit in Miami.

This was the second time in less than 24 hours that the US President had slammed the previous US administaration for meddling in Indian elections. "All of these scams have now been terminated. Over the past month, we have effectively eliminated the US Agency for International Development, USAID, which was funding much of this lunacy. We shut down the out-of-control CFPB... What they were doing was so terrible, where they were sending the money was terrible. What we haven't looked at yet is: did the money come back to them? We'll figure that out pretty easily and quickly,” the US President added. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump had backed the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) decision to cancel the $21 million funding for "voter turnout in India".

"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. I have a lot of respect for India and their Prime Minister, but giving $21 million for voter turnout? In India? What about voter turnout here?" Trump remarked while speaking at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. The Elon Musk-led DOGE had on February 16 announced the cancellation of the $21 million grant, outlining several foreign assistance programmes - the India voter turnout project topping the list - that had been deemed unnecessary or excessive.

"US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all of which have been cancelled," the DOGE statement said, highlighting the cancellation of multiple international initiatives, including $29 million for "strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh" and $39 million aimed at "fiscal federalism" and "biodiversity conservation" in Nepal. "It has been known to every one that foreign especially western intervention in India’s election process is not uncommon. $21 million by disbanded USAID is only the tip of the iceberg. Fortunately the politically savvy Indian electorate is far too smart for them," Former Indian Ambassador Anil Trigunayat posted on X.

The US Department of Government Efficiency had also listed several other countries where the US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent, all of which have now been cancelled. It included $29M to "strengthening political landscape in Bangladesh" and $20M for "fiscal federalism" in Nepal. Questions are also being raised about the role of USAID and other organisations in Bangladesh during the Biden period and its role in ousting the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina, last August. All USAID aid programmes in Bangladesh have now been suspended. "At the political level, in light of the Trump administration's measures, questions have arisen about the role the Biden administration played in engineering regime change in Bangladesh in August last year. Visits to Dhaka by Donald Lu and other senior American officials raised suspicion. The suspicions now appear to have been grounded on reality. Bangladesh today struggles to have stability restored in its socio-political landscape," Syed Badrul Ahsan, noted Bangladeshi journalist, historian and political analyst told IANS.

Another Dhaka-based counter-terrorism expert, Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury hailed Trump for directly questioning spending millions of American taxpayers' dollars for "creating chaos" in Bangladesh under the pretences of "strengthening democracy". "Onwards Trump administration should investigate the matter including the notorious role played by Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George and Alex Soros and Bill and Hillary Clinton in pushing Bangladesh into the grips of Islamists, jihadists and looters," Choudhury posted on X. The government led by PM Modi has been a target of this conspiracy since at least since 2016, states strategic affairs analyst Atul Aneja. "USAID has been the front end of the US deep state, whose goal was to destabilise strong sovereign governments, by mostly funding overseas NGOs that engage in dividing host nations on the lines of ethnicity, caste, gender and promotion of woke culture," Aneja told IANS.

After the DOGE's announcement on USAID, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had attacked the opposition party, Congress, over the $21 million grant, saying it "definitely is external interference in India's electoral process". "$21M for voter turnout? This definitely is external interference in India’s electoral process. Who gains from this? Not the ruling party for sure!" party leader Amit Malviya said. He also linked the initiative to the "systematic infiltration" of Indian institutions by foreign entities. Malviya had also slammed Hungarian-born US financier George Soros, who has been accused of influencing domestic politics through his Open Society Foundations by several political leaders worldwide. "Once again, it is George Soros, a known associate of the Congress party and the Gandhis, whose shadow looms over our electoral process," Malviya claimed.

/IANS