India is seeing a fierce political controversy following the revelation by former US President Donald Trump recently that USAID spent $21 million to shape voter turnout in India's Lok Sabha elections. Trump also hinted that the agency could have sought to effect a regime change.
They were in response to an announcement made by the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under billionaire Elon Musk of plans for budget trimming. Cut among the expenditure were the $21 million reserved for "voter turnout in India."
In response to Trump's comment, BJP MP Mahesh Jethmalani went to X (formerly Twitter) to bring to light the work of Veena Reddy, who headed USAID's India mission from 2021 until the end of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He suggested that her hiring and subsequent resignation were connected to the agency's work.
"So #DOGE has learned that #USAID spent $21 million on 'voter turnout' in India, i.e., bribing voters to vote in order to bring about regime change. #VeenaReddy was dispatched to India in 2021 (hmm?) as the leader of USAID's Indian mission. After #loksabha elections 2024 (presumably her voter turnout operation complete), she was back in the US. Too bad because here, our investigating agencies could have posed her a few questions on who this money was distributed to for spending on voter turnout operations," Jethmalani tweeted.
He also claimed that Reddy closely coordinated with US Ambassador Eric Garcetti to further USAID's interests in India.
Veena Reddy, an Indian-origin diplomat, was USAID's mission director for India and Bhutan from August 2021 to July 2024. She was the first Indian-American to serve in this role. Reddy announced her return to the US on July 17, 2024, barely more than a month after India's elections ended.
A career US Senior Foreign Service member, Reddy has had considerable experience in international development, having worked in Cambodia, Haiti, and Pakistan previously. Her professional work was mostly in economic development, governance, and humanitarian aid. A holder of a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia University, as well as a Master of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago, she first served as a corporate lawyer in top cities such as New York, London, and Los Angeles before she joined USAID.
While in office in India, USAID partnered with various government ministries such as NITI Aayog, the Ministry of Power, Indian Railways, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. USAID also supported programs in economic development, human rights, and governance reforms.
Trump's comments ushered in a political standoff between BJP and Congress, with both sides trading insults on the meaning of the disclosure.
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad connected Trump's allegations to previous utterances by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2023, where he purportedly called for international interference in India's democratic operations. The Congress, however, labeled Trump's claims as unfounded and called for an exhaustive report on USAID's funding to Indian institutions over the decades.
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