$21 million going to ‘my friend’ PM Modi…: Donald Trump’s third jibe on USAID | Watch

US President Donald Trump on Saturday once again questioned the USAID's $21 million fund for ‘voter turnout’ in India, which his administration has cancelled.

“USD 21 million going to my friend Prime Minister Modi in India for voter turnout. We are giving $21 million for voter turnout in India, what about us? I want voter turnout too.” the US President said in a video shared by BJP IT department head Amit Malviya in a post on X.

Also Read: Did US meddle in India’s elections via USAID? Donald Trump drops big hint, ‘trying to get someone else elected’

He went on to mention the $29 million USAID fund allocated to Bangladesh for “strengthening the political landscape”.

“The $29 million in Bangladesh went to a firm that no one had ever heard of, with only two people working at that firm,” the US President stated.

Watch the video here:

Trump categorically stated that a "$29 million fund was granted to strengthen the political landscape of Bangladesh," which directly contradicts the claims made in a recent media report.

Also Read: Donald Trump questions $21M USAID funding for India voter turnout | Controversy explained amid BJP, Cong, EC responses

India on Friday said the revelations about USAID funding for certain activities in the country are "deeply troubling" and have led to concerns about foreign interference in its internal affairs.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said relevant departments and authorities are looking into the information put out by the United States administration regarding certain US activities and funding.

"We have seen information that has been put out by the US administration regarding certain US activities and funding. These are obviously very deeply troubling," Jaiswal said.

Also Read: ‘Kickback scheme’: Donald Trump on $21 million USAID funding for voter turnout in India

"This has led to concerns about foreign interference in India's internal affairs. Relevant departments and agencies are looking into this matter. It would be premature to make a public comment at this stage, so relevant authorities are looking into it and hopefully, we can come up with an update on that subsequently," Jaiswal said.

Earlier, Trump has questioned the necessity of spending millions on voter turnout in a foreign country, adding, “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 USD 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 USD 500 million, didn't we? It's called the lockboxes.”

(With inputs from agencies)