In this handout image released by the Vice President’s Office on February 21, 2025, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar addresses the inaugural session of the 21st African-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO) Conference, in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: PTI/VP Office
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday (February 21, 2025) voiced concern over the alleged USAID funding for raising voter turnout in India, saying time has come to root out the “political COVID which has infiltrated in our society to destroy the country’s democracy.
He said all those involved in this “sinister activity, who benefited out of this structured pernicious strategy” must be shamed and brought to book and fully exposed.
“Time has come to thoroughly get into this malaise, this political Covid infiltrated in our society to destroy our democracy,” he said.
Making almost identical remarks at two events in New Delhi, Mr. Dhankhar said it was the “national duty” of people to strike hard at such forces.
Addressing an event in Miami on Thursday (February 20, 2025), U.S. President Donald Trump once again questioned the USAID funding of $21 million for voter turnout in India, and said “I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected.” Mr. Dhankhar said the remarks on USAID funding came from a person of authority and that it was a fact that money was given.
Referring to Mr. Trump, he said the U.S. President had claimed that fiscal muscle was used.
“Funds were pumped in to doctor and manipulate our democratic result. He has gone to the extent of saying I must give my thought on it, that someone else was sought to be elected. To elect is the right only of Indian people,” the Vice-President said.
He said anyone doctoring or manipulating that process is undermining our democratic values, is subverting our democracy in the process, bringing us under servitude, subservience.
Urging people to be aware of attempt to tarnish constitutional institutions, Mr. Dhankhar said, “Our institutions are facing structured taint, a facet of wokeism. Our constitutional functionaries are sought to be ridiculed… Be it to institution of the President, of the Vice President, or the Prime Minister. These are not political posts, these are our institutions. People fail to show even minimum respect.” He said his heart bleeds when the president is “shamed, ridiculed, even when she performs her constitutional duty in the joint sitting of Parliament.
“Her tribal status becomes a cause of concern when the taint is put in public domain. A lady of sterling worth, track record of dedicated service, as a legislator, as a minister, as a governor and now President of India.” He was referring to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s remarks on the President.
Calling for the use of “Chanakya niti” to get into the root of the controversy, he said the problem should be eradicated from its roots.
“People who allowed such kind of an attack (to allegedly damage the electoral purity) should be exposed,” he said.
He also said delivering a body blow to such forces is the “national duty” of people.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by billionaire Elon Musk had announced a series of expenditure cuts, including $21 million allocated for “voter turnout in India.” The DOGE in a post on X on Saturday last announced cancelling many programmes costing hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars.
The department said, “U.S. taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all (of) which have been cancelled…” The list included $486 million in grants to the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening, including $21 million for “voter turnout in India”.
Published – February 21, 2025 09:41 pm IST