All 'USAID' And Done: Modi Govt Plans Deep Probe, Congress Asks For White Paper

Last Updated:February 20, 2025, 16:18 IST

The immediate concern and focus is whether there was an attempt to influence or interfere in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, government sources said

For now, the government has begun sending questionnaires to some individuals on the list of USAID recipients. (Representational pic/AP)

The Narendra Modi government clearly means business as sources said the first step has been taken towards investigating and potentially taking action against those found guilty of “compromising India’s sovereignty or interfering in its internal processes".

The opposition and government are engaged in a war of words over the “USAID" and “George Soros" issues. Sources earlier told CNN-News18 that the United States and India have exchanged a mammoth list, which includes names of NGOs, influencers, journalists, scholars, and think tanks. The governments in both countries are perusing the list and will act upon the details of transactions soon.

Sources said that the list, which is available to both the American and Indian administrations, will be the basis for the probe, which will gain full momentum only when all transactions have been examined. For now, the government has begun sending questionnaires to some individuals on the list of USAID recipients.

Details of foreign travel are also being sought. According to sources, some “unnatural" transactions have also been noticed. All of this is to be investigated extensively.

The immediate concern and focus is whether there was an attempt to influence or interfere in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has cancelled a $21 million US taxpayer-funded grant, under former President Joe Biden’s administration, meant to influence “voter turnout in India". In its announcement, DOGE highlighted that the $21 million was part of a larger $486 million budget allocated to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening".

Sources said that the Narendra Modi government has taken serious note of “opening up India’s electoral process to outside aid and powers", even though it is solely the domain of the Election Commission to ensure free and fair polls.

However, this has not fazed the opposition. In fact, Congress’s media & publicity department chairman Pawan Khera was the first to post on social media site X, asking why the opposition would take money to defeat itself in 2024. But government sources said that the pattern of campaigning showed that the opposition wanted to build a perception that democracy and the Constitution were in shambles, believing this would help them politically. It did not.

In 2024, at a rally in Chikkaballapur in Karnataka, the Prime Minister said, “There are many powers in the world and in India who have got together to defeat Modi."

Government sources said that the report and list run into several pages and the Centre does not want to rush anything. Both the Modi and Trump administrations have taken these developments seriously and want to see them through to fruition.

Congress Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh said, “USAID is very much in the news these days. It was set up on November 3, 1961. Claims being made by the US President are typically nonsensical, to say the least. Even so, the Government of India should bring out a white paper at the earliest detailing USAID’s support to both governmental and non-governmental institutions in India over the decades."

News politics All 'USAID' And Done: Modi Govt Plans Deep Probe, Congress Asks For White Paper