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Government sources pointed out that in multiple election speeches last year in April and May, Modi said foreign powers are making attempts to influence India’s elections, but they are doomed to fail
US President Donald Trump and PM Narendra Modi have hinted at foreign forces trying to influence Indian elections. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump’s claim that money was being pumped into India to influence the election result in the country is a reaffirmation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion during the 2024 election campaign that foreign powers were trying to stop him from coming to power.
Addressing the FII PRIORITY Summit in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday, Trump said: “… Why do we need to spend $21 million on voter turnout in India? I guess they were trying to get somebody else elected. We have got to tell the Indian government… This is a total breakthrough…” He was referring to the $21 million aid through USAID being stopped by the new DOGE in the US.
The claim by Trump that USAID money may have been used to subvert the Indian election reaffirms PM Modi’s proclamation during the 2024 election campaign that foreign forces were trying to influence the Indian elections. Government sources have pointed out that in multiple election speeches last year in April and May, Modi said foreign powers are making attempts to influence India’s elections, but they are doomed to fail.
In a rally last April, PM Modi said “big and powerful people in India and abroad have joined hands to remove me from power”. In another rally in May, the prime minister said: “I can see that there is an attempt by some in the world to influence our elections. They are not just giving their opinions but are trying to influence our polls. But they will not be successful.”
He reiterated this at yet another rally, saying there was a foreign hand at play to “weaken India” and that “some countries, and institutions don’t like the rise of India”. He went on to say that “when the country is moving fast, some countries and some institutions don’t like it. There are many people who don’t like a strong India. They want the country and its government to be weak, so that they can make profits easily”. The prime minister said the worry of such entities is there is a BJP government in India “which no one can bend”.
PM Modi, at the start of the Budget Session of Parliament this year, had also pointed to ‘foreign interference’ when he said it was the first session after many years when no “foreign spark” had come to derail the session. He said certain forces “have often worked to create unrest before key parliamentary proceedings” and the Opposition had also exploited such opportunities.
