Newsman: President Donald Trump has questioned a $ 29 million US tax payer’s money that was spent for “strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh.” He said a $ 29 million was given to an organization that no one has ever heard of and only two people work there. President Donald Trump was addressing the working session of governors at the white house in Washington DC on Friday.
The organization has received $29 million from the US government but it is such a small that it depends on donation of $10 thousand from here and there , Trump said.
“I think they (two workers) are very happy. They are very rich. Soon they will be highlighted in a good business magazine for the scam” He added.
President Trump has also talked on this very issue in at list two other events, the FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami and at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday in Washington DC. He also mentioned numbers of country including India and Nepal where the US tax payer’s money had been spend under various programs that raised question in ambiguity.
While speaking at the FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami, the US President Donald Trump questioned a $29 million grant for “strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh” and $39 million for “fiscal federalism” and “biodiversity conservation” in Nepal, among other international funding alongside the $21 million US allocation for voter turnout in India.
President Trump defended DOGE’s move to scrapped a $21 million grant intended to boost “voter turnout” in India and questioned why US taxpayers’ money was used for this initiative. “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?” President Trump said.
The US President Donald Trump said, “$21 million for voter turnout, why do we need to spend $21 million for voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected.”
“We have got to tell the Indian Government. Because when we hear that Russia spent about two thousand dollars in our country, it was a big deal. They took some internet ads for two thousand dollars. This is a total breakthrough,” he added.
Trump pointed out India’s strong economic position and high tariffs on US goods, saying, “They got a lot of money. They’re 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.”
Despite his concerns, Trump maintained his respect for India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Referring to Modi’s recent visit to the US, he said, “I have a lot of respect for India. I have a lot of respect for the prime minister. He just left, as you know, two days ago. But we’re giving $21 million for voter turnout. It’s voter turnout in India. What about, like, voter turnout here? Oh, we’ve done that, I guess. We did $500 million, didn’t we? It’s called the lockboxes.”
Meanwhile, the renowned newspaper ‘the Indian Express’ reported on Friday the US government’s alleged $29 million funding “ for voter turnout” was for Bangladesh , not for India citing federal spending records.
The newspaper reported: “The only ongoing USAID grant to CEPPS matching the denomination of $21 million and the purpose of voting was sanctioned … in July 2022 for USAID’s Amar Vote Amar (My Vote is Mine). This is a project in Bangladesh.”
The grant was meant to run for three years until July 2025.
Of the $21 million, $13.4 million has already been disbursed apparently for “political and civic engagement” among students in Bangladesh ahead of the January 2024 general election and other programmes, The Indian Express reported.
In November 2022, the purpose of the United States’ funding was changed to “USAID’s Nagorik (Citizen) Program”, the newspaper reported.
The grant was confirmed by a Dhaka-based USAID political processes adviser on social media in December 2024 while on a visit to the National Democratic Institute office in Washington, saying: “The USAID-funded $21 million CEPPS/Nagorik project… which I manage.”
While The International Foundation for Electoral Systems declined to comment when contacted by The Indian Express, the queries sent to National Democratic Institute and The International Republican Institute by the newspaper had not been answered.
The Indian Express quoted social media posts by the Micro Governance Research programme at the University of Dhaka and the programme’s director Associate Professor Aynul Islam as showing how the grants had been used.
One posts said that 544 youth events had been organised in Bangladeshi universities since September 2022 “to promote youth democratic leadership and civic engagement that directly reached 10,264 university youth through 221 action projects and 170 democracy sessions, among others!” the newspaper reported.
Islam told the newspaper that USAID had provided the grants to the Nagorik programme through CEPPS.
On February 16, DOGE published a list of taxpayer-funded programs that have been cut, including the $21 million allocated for India’s voter turnout. The announcement was made via a post on X, where DOGE laid out a series of foreign assistance programs deemed excessive or unjustifiable.
“US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all of which have been cancelled,” DOGE declared.
The list of scrapped funding included a $29 million grant for “strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh” and $39 million for “fiscal federalism” and “biodiversity conservation” in Nepal, among other international funding.
Meanwhile, The ruling BJP termed the now-cancelled funding “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!” said BJP national spokesperson Amit Malviya in a statement
He went further, linking the initiative to what he called “systematic infiltration” of Indian institutions by foreign entities. Mr Malviya singled out billionaire investor George Soros, who has been accused by right-wing political figures worldwide of influencing domestic politics through his Open Society Foundations.
“Once again, it is George Soros, a known associate of the Congress party and the Gandhis, whose shadow looms over our electoral process,” Mr Malviya claimed.
The BJP has long been wary of foreign-funded NGOs and civil society organisations operating in India. Mr Malviya also flagged a controversial 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Election Commission of India and The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), an organisation linked to Mr Soros’s Open Society Foundation.
According to Mr Malviya, the MoU — signed under the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government — enabled undue foreign influence over India’s electoral system.
“Ironically, those questioning the transparent and inclusive process of appointing India’s Election Commissioner — a first in our democracy, where previously the Prime Minister alone made the decision — had no hesitation in handing over the entire Election Commission of India to foreign operators,” Mr Malviya claimed.
He further accused the Congress of systematically allowing foreign interference in Indian governance. “The Congress-led UPA government systematically enabled the infiltration of India’s institutions by forces opposed to the nation’s interests — those who seek to weaken India at every opportunity,” he claimed.
Donald Trump also shifted focus aiming at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of persuading the US to pour billions into what he called an “unwinnable war.” Trump criticized the US spending in Ukraine, accusing president Zelenskyy of poor governance and alleging misuse of funds, stating the US received no benefit from its financial support.
“The United States has spent $200 billion more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back,” Trump asserted. He claimed that Ukraine had received significantly more financial support from the US than from European nations, questioning the returns on such an investment.
