New Delhi:

The United States Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has cancelled a $21 million US taxpayer-funded grant – under former President Joe Biden’s administration – meant to influence “voter turnout in India.” In its announcement, DOGE highlighted that the $21 million was part of a larger $486 million budget allocated to the “Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening.” 

Another $29 million was slated for “strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh” – a country that witnessed political turmoil amid allegations of US ‘deep state’ involvement in the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. 

The Musk-led department revealed that other taxpayer-funded projects also faced the axe, including:

• $47 million for “improving learning outcomes in Asia”
• $40 million for a “gender equality and women empowerment hub”
• $32 million to the Prague Civil Society Centre
• $22 million to foster an “inclusive and participatory political process” in Moldova. 
• $20 million for “fiscal federalism” in Nepal
• $19 million for “biodiversity conservation” in Nepal
• $14 million for “social cohesion” in Mali
• $14 million for “improving public procurement” in Serbia
• $10 million for “Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision”
• $9.7 million for UC Berkeley to develop “a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise-driven skills”
• $2.5 million for “inclusive democracies in Southern Africa”
• $2.3 million for “strengthening independent voices in Cambodia”
• $2 million to develop “sustainable recycling models” to “increase socio-economic cohesion among marginalised communities of Kosovo Roma, Ashkali, and Egypt”
• $1.5 million for “voter confidence” in Liberia

US taxpayer dollars were going to be spent on the following items, all which have been cancelled:
– $10M for “Mozambique voluntary medical male circumcision”
– $9.7M for UC Berkeley to develop “a cohort of Cambodian youth with enterprise driven skills”
– $2.3M for “strengthening…

— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 15, 2025

The sweeping cancellations, Mr Musk’s department stated, were part of efforts to improve government efficiency and ensure taxpayer dollars were not being spent on “questionable” overseas political activities.

BJP’s “External Interference” Response

The 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 

Mr Malviya further alleged “systematic infiltration” of Indian institutions by foreign forces, particularly targeting billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros and his alleged network of global influence through his Open Society Foundation.

“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.

Once again, it is George Soros, a known associate of the Congress party and the Gandhis, whose shadow looms over our electoral process.

In 2012, under the leadership of S.Y. Quraishi, the Election Commission signed an MoU with The International Foundation for Electoral… https://t.co/PO13Iyroee pic.twitter.com/gdgAQoDbPh

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 16, 2025

He also flagged the controversial 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Election Commission of India and The International Foundation for Electoral Systems, an organisation linked to Mr Soros’s Open Society Foundation, which is primarily funded by USAID – the American federal body that oversees foreign aid and is facing massive budget cuts under Donald Trump’s presidency. 

“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 added.

According to Mr Malviya, 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.”

The BJP alleges that foreign-backed civil society organisations and NGOs, particularly those linked to Mr Soros, have been working to influence Indian politics. 

The Bangladesh Situation 

The announcement that $29 million was marked for “strengthening the political landscape in Bangladesh” comes just days after President Trump addressed allegations of ‘deep state’ involvement in the recent political developments in Bangladesh. Asked during a joint press briefing with PM Modi whether the previous Biden administration had orchestrated a regime change, President Trump denied any such involvement.

“There was no role for our deep state. This is something the Prime Minister has been working on for a long time, for hundreds of years, frankly. I have been reading about it. I will leave Bangladesh to the Prime Minister,” President Trump said.

The response has done little to quell speculation. The ousting of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the subsequent rise of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as the country’s interim leader have fueled claims of US-backed political manoeuvring.

Since Ms Hasina’s departure, diplomatic tensions between India and Bangladesh have escalated. Delhi has raised concerns about increasing attacks on religious minorities under the new regime.

Godda:

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, faced an unexpected delay today as his helicopter remained grounded in Jharkhand’s Godda awaiting clearance from Air Traffic Control (ATC). 

The chopper was allowed to take off after a delay of 45 minutes amid high-stakes campaigning for the final phase of the state’s assembly elections.

The Congress claimed the hold-up was a calculated move to disrupt Mr Gandhi’s campaign schedule. Party leaders pointed fingers at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally near Deoghar, suggesting that the ATC’s decision prioritised the PM’s event over Mr Gandhi’s movements.

“Just because the PM is in Deogarh, Rahul Gandhi was not allowed to cross that area…There is the protocol we understand but Congress ruled the country for 70 years and such an incident never happened with any opposition leader. This is not acceptable,” said Deepika Pandey Singh, MLA and Congress candidate from Mahagama Constituency.

Hitting out at the BJP earlier today, Mr Gandhi alleged that the party does not care about Backward Classes.

“In Jharkhand, BJP had reduced the reservation for backward classes from 27% to 14%. On one hand Narendra Modi gives a speech saying- I belong to the backward class. On the other hand, they reduce the reservation for backward classes, snatch away your land and make you unemployed through demonetisation,” he said. 

Around 80 km away at the Deoghar airport, Prime Minister Modi’s aircraft experienced a technical snag due to which the aircraft had to remain at the airport causing a delay in his return to Delhi. PM Modi is scheduled to be in the national capital this evening where he will inaugurate an event at the SAI Indira Gandhi Sports Complex. 

The second phase of Jharkhand’s assembly elections will take place on November 20. The first phase of voting concluded on November 14 for 43 of the state’s 81 seats. The election results will be counted on November 23.

Shimla:

The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Wednesday issued notice to Kangana Ranaut, the BJP Lok Sabha member from Mandi, on a petition filed by a Kinnaur resident for setting aside her election on the grounds that his nomination papers to contest from the Lok Sabha constituency were allegedly wrongly rejected.

Issuing the notice, Justice Jyotsna Rewal directed Ms Ranaut to file a reply by August 21.

Ms Ranaut had won the Mandi Lok Sabha seat, defeating her rival Congress candidate Vikramaditya Singh by 74,755 votes. She had polled 5,37,002 votes against Singh’s 4,62,267 votes.

Pleading for setting aside the election of Ms Ranaut, the petitioner, Layak Ram Negi, maintained that his nomination papers were wrongly rejected by the returning officer (Deputy Commissioner, Mandi) and also made him a party.

Negi, an ex-employee of the forest department, said that he got premature retirement and produced a “no dues certificate” from the department along with nomination papers to the returning officer.

However, he was given a day to produce the “no due certificate” from the electricity, water, and telephone departments and when he submitted them, the returning officer did not accept them and rejected the nomination papers.

He pleaded that he could have won the election had his papers been accepted and said that the election be set aside. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Having stepped down from the post after two of his remarks stirred up a huge political row, putting the Congress on the backfoot during the all-important Lok Sabha elections, Sam Pitroda has been reappointed the chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress. 

The reappointment was announced by the party in a statement on Wednesday.

Towards the end of April, when the first phase of the elections was over and the Congress was fending off a charge – led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi – that its manifesto had spoken of wealth redistribution, Mr Pitroda had added fuel to the fire by speaking about an inheritance tax.

Criticising the Prime Minister for claiming that the party’s manifesto spoke of snatching gold and women’s mangalsutras (a sacred ornament in Hinduism symbolising that a woman is married), Mr Pitroda, while speaking to ANI, ended up talking about the inheritance tax. 

“In America, there is an inheritance tax. If one has $100 million worth of wealth and when he dies he can only transfer probably 45 per cent to his children, 55 per cent is grabbed by the government. That’s an interesting law. It says you in your generation, made wealth and you are leaving now, you must leave your wealth for the public, not all of it, half of it, which to me sounds fair,” he had said. 

The BJP latched on to this statement and claimed that the Congress’ hidden designs had been exposed.

Addressing a rally, PM Modi had said, “The advisor of the prince of the Congress royal family had earlier said that the middle class should be taxed more. Now they have gone further ahead. Now the  Congress is saying that it will impose an Inheritance Tax and tax the inheritance received by people from their parents. The wealth you accumulate with your hard work won’t pass down to your children. The Congress’s hand will snatch it.”

Even as the Congress was dealing with the fallout of that statement, Mr Pitroda ended up making another controversial comment in early May, which led to allegations of the party being divisive.

In an exclusive interview with The Statesman, the Congress leader had described India as a “… diverse country… where people on East look like Chinese, people on West look like Arab, people in the North look like maybe White and people in South look like Africa.” 

As the controversy over this remark snowballed, the Congress announced on May 8 that Mr Pitroda had decided to step down from the post. 

“Mr Sam Pitroda has decided to step down as Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress of his own accord. The Congress President has accepted his decision,” senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had posted on X.

The Lok Sabha elections were held between April 19 and June 1. The Congress had managed to win 99 seats on its own, improving its tally from 52 in 2019, and the INDIA alliance clinched 232 seats. The BJP fell short of a majority, winning in 240 constituencies, but the NDA was comfortably over the 272 mark, ending up with a figure of 293. 

Bhopal/New Delhi:

Union Minister Shivraj Chouhan today travelled by train to reach Bhopal, weeks after he won the Lok Sabha elections from his home turf Vidisha.

Known for his down-to-earth approach, Mr Chouhan boarded the Shatabdi Express from Delhi along with his wife. 

He also spoke to the passengers in the train and posed with children. Some were also seen clicking selfie with him. 

Sharing his train travel pics on X – earlier known a Twitter – Mr Chouhan praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for “revolutionary changes” in the Indian Railways.

“Under the guidance of the Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji and the vision of Railways Minister Shri @AshwiniVaishnaw ji, Indian Railways is witnessing revolutionary changes in all areas of management and operations. Indian Railways is continuously working to meet the fast paced needs of New India and to make the journey of passengers economical, safe and comfortable,” he said.

आज नई दिल्ली से ‘शताब्दी एक्सप्रेस’ ट्रेन में यात्रा कर रहा हूं। इस दौरान यात्रा का अनुभव अत्यंत आनंददायक है।

आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी के मार्गदर्शन तथा रेलमंत्री श्री @AshwiniVaishnaw जी के विजन से भारतीय रेल प्रबंधन और संचालन के सभी क्षेत्रों में युगांतरकारी… pic.twitter.com/LzwEN1UVOs

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (मोदी का परिवार ) (@ChouhanShivraj) June 16, 2024

ट्रेन के सफर का अपना अलग आनंद है, कुछ घंटों के सफर में सहयात्रियों के साथ आत्मीय रिश्ता बन जाता है। pic.twitter.com/PpZz2LupH4

— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (मोदी का परिवार ) (@ChouhanShivraj) June 16, 2024

Ex-Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan – who orchestrated the BJP’s thumping win in the Assembly election last year, but was stood down from returning in that role – is the new Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, replacing the BJP’s senior tribal leader Arjun Munda.

Mr Chouhan contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from his Vidisha stronghold, which he won by a margin of over 8.2 lakh votes; he won this seat in five consecutive elections between 1991 and 2004.

New Delhi:

After his controversial statement on the BJP’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, RSS leader Indresh Kumar attempted to clarify his remarks by saying the polls show that those who opposed Lord Ram have been defeated while those who set the goal of restoring Lord Ram’s glory are in power.

Mr Kumar had sparked a row yesterday by stating that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was restricted to 240 seats, well below the majority mark, in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls due to its “arrogance”. Speaking at an event near Jaipur on Thursday, Mr Kumar said, “The party which did bhakti of Lord Ram and became arrogant was stopped at 240; however, it became the biggest party.”

“And those who had no faith in Ram were stopped at 234,” he said, referring to the INDIA bloc. “See the ‘Vidhan’ of Ram Rajya in democracy; those who did ‘Bhakti’ of Ram, but gradually turned arrogant, emerged as the biggest party; however, the vote and the power that they should have been given was stopped by God due to arrogance.”

Mr Kumar’s remarks sparked a row. The RSS leader sought to mitigate the damage by clarifying, “The mood of the country is very clear at present. Those who opposed Lord Ram are not in power; those who set the goal to respect Lord Ram are in power and the government has been formed for the third time under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

Mr Kumar’s remarks follow RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement a few days ago. Mr Bhagwat had said that a true ‘sevak’ should serve people without arrogance and maintain dignity.

The RSS yesterday sought to quell the suggestions of a rift with the BJP and that Mohan Bhagwat’s recent critical references related to the Lok Sabha polls were aimed at the ruling party, insisting that such claims are just speculation meant to create confusion.

“There is no rift between the RSS and the BJP,” RSS sources said, amid assertions by a section of people, including opposition leaders, that Mr Bhagwat’s remarks, including “true sevak is never arrogant,” were a message to the BJP leadership following its below-par performance in the polls.

“There was not much difference in his (Mr Bhagwat’s) speech from what he had given after the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Any address is bound to make a reference to an event as important as national elections. But it was misinterpreted and taken out of context to create confusion. His ‘arrogance’ remark was never directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi or any BJP leader,” the sources said.

In his speech, Mr Bhagwat had on Monday expressed concern over peace eluding Manipur even after one year of conflict, criticised the common discourse during polls, and called for moving on instead of unnecessary discussion on the what and how of the elections after they were over and results were out.

Opposition leaders had seized on his remarks to take a swipe at the BJP and PM Modi. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had said, “If not the ‘one-third’ Prime Minister’s conscience or the repeated demands of the people of Manipur, perhaps Mr Bhagwat can prevail upon the former RSS office-bearer to go to Manipur.”

Such claims by the opposition leaders are nothing but politics meant to spread confusion, the RSS sources said.

 

New Delhi:

India will hike road toll charges across the country by 3-5% from Monday, officials said, after putting the annual increase on hold in April due to the Lok Sabha elections.

Toll charges in India are revised annually in line with inflation and highway operators put notices in local newspapers announcing hikes of 3% to 5% at nearly 1,100 toll plazas from Monday.

“As the election process is over, the revision of user fee (toll) rates, which was put on hold during the elections, would become effective from June 3,” a senior official at the National Highways Authority of India told Reuters.

The official said hikes in toll charges and taxation on fuel products help pay for the expansion of national highways, but opposition parties and many motorists criticise the annual rise in charges, saying they increase transport costs of essential commodities and burden commuters.

High operators like IRB Infrastructure Developers and Ashok Buildcon Ltd will benefit from the toll increases.

India has invested billions of dollars over the last decade to expand the national highways, with a total length of about 146,000 kilometres, the second-largest global road network.

Toll collections jumped to more than 540 billion rupees ($6.5 billion) in the 2022/23 fiscal year from 252 billion in 2018/19, helped by a rise in road traffic as well as by increases in the number of toll plazas and charges.

India’s general election concluded on Saturday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance projected to win a big majority, TV exit polls showed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Sunday said he was worried after getting reports about post-poll violence in Sandeshkhali, and asked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to intervene immediately and restore peace there.

Speaking to PTI, Mr Bose said that he has written to Ms Banerjee asking her to inform him about the action taken against those involved in the incidents of violence in Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district.

“I am a bit worried about the situation in Sandeshkhali. From the inputs I have received, I have come to know about incidents of attacks on the women of Sandeshkhali within hours after the polling was over yesterday. I have written to the Chief Minister about the steps taken in this regard,” Mr Bose said.

“If such attacks continue and the inhabitants are tortured, I will open the doors of the Raj Bhavan for them to come and stay here. They will be provided safe shelter here,” he added.

In less than 24 hours after the election was over, trouble-torn Sandehkhali on Sunday witnessed another round of skirmishes between women and the police when the personnel went there and detained one person in connection with attacks on policemen the previous night.

Women in Agarhati village in Sandeshkhali got involved in a fight with the Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, fell tree trunks, and blocked roads when the police went there in search of a few persons who had allegedly attacked them, a senior police officer said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Polling is underway for the nine Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal in the seventh phase on Saturday, marked by reports of violence and tension across various areas. Clashes were reported in the Satuliya area in Bhangar, within the Jadavpur constituency near Kolkata, between the Indian Secular Front (ISF) and CPI(M) supporters. The confrontation led to several injuries among ISF members, exacerbated by the presence of country-made bombs.

In Kultali, South 24 Parganas district, an angry mob forced its way into polling stations, seizing an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and throwing it into a nearby pond. This incident occurred after some polling agents were allegedly barred from entering the booths, prompting local residents to retaliate by seizing the EVM equipped with Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and discarding it.

West Bengal: EVM machine was seen floating in water during voting in South 24 Parganas. pic.twitter.com/HInj1D7gLe

— IANS (@ians_india) June 1, 2024

“Today morning at 6.40 am Reserve EVMs & papers of Sector Officer near Benimadhavpur FP school, at 129-Kultali AC of 19-Jaynagar (SC) PC has been looted by local mob and 1 CU, 1 BU , 2VVPAT machines have been thrown inside a pond…FIR has been lodged by Sector Officer and necessary action has been initiated. Poll process in all six booths under the Sector is running uninterrupted. Fresh EVM and papers have been provided to the Sector Officer,” the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal said in a statement.

(1/2)
Today morning at 6.40 am Reserve EVMs & papers of Sector Officer near Benimadhavpur FP school, at 129-Kultali AC of 19-Jaynagar (SC) PC has been looted by local mob and 1 CU, 1 BU , 2VVPAT machines have been thrown inside a pond.

— CEO West Bengal (@CEOWestBengal) June 1, 2024

Tensions flared in Sandeshkhali under Basirhat Lok Sabha late Friday night and persisted into the early hours of polling. Local women, armed with bamboo sticks, protested against alleged threats from Trinamool Congress (TMC) activists and state police. They accused associates of the now-suspended Trinamool leader Sheikh Shahjahan, who is currently imprisoned, of intimidating their families. State police, however, claimed the unrest began after local BJP supporters assaulted civic volunteers.

Tensions also escalated in Canning in South 24 Parganas district, as clashes erupted between supporters of TMC and BJP within the precincts of Itkhola Gram Panchayat. There have been reports of stone pelting in the area in which a media personnel sustained injuries.

The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, and BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya shared videos of the protests, accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of using party goons and state police to intimidate voters.

In Bhangar, clashes between TMC and All India Secular Front (AISF) activists erupted early on Saturday, injuring a woman AISF activist. Additionally, the vehicle of AISF candidate Nur Alam Khan was vandalised, allegedly by Trinamool supporters.

Polling for the nine Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, including Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, and Kolkata Uttar, began at 7 am under stringent security measures. Voting will continue until 6 pm.

Prominent candidates in this phase include Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee from Diamond Harbour, BJP’s Rekha Patra from Basirhat, and CPI(M)’s Sujan Chakraborty from Dum Dum. The polling is being conducted under heavy security, with 1,020 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in the state, 978 of which are on polling duty. A total of 1,960 quick response teams (QRTs) are deployed statewide to address any tensions.
 

New Delhi:

OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, has said it acted within 24 hours to disrupt “deceptive” use of artificial intelligence (AI) in a covert operation that sought to influence the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

This influence campaign, called “Zero Zeno”, was run by STOIC, a political campaign management firm in Israel.

The threat actors attempted to leverage OpenAI’s powerful language models for tasks like generating comments, articles, social media profiles that criticised the ruling BJP and praised the Congress, the company led by CEO Sam Altman said.

“In May, the network began generating comments that focused on India, criticised the ruling BJP party and praised the opposition Congress party. We disrupted some activity focused on the Indian elections less than 24 hours after it began,” OpenAI said.

OpenAI said it banned a cluster of accounts operated from Israel that were being used to generate and edit content for an influence operation that spanned X, Facebook, Instagram, websites, and YouTube.

“This operation targeted audiences in Canada, the United States and Israel with content in English and Hebrew. In early May, it began targeting audiences in India with English-language content,” the company said.

Responding to the report, the BJP called it a “dangerous threat” to the democracy.

“It is absolutely clear and obvious that @BJP4India was and is the target of influence operations, misinformation and foreign interference, being done by and/or on behalf of some Indian political parties,” said Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

“This is very dangerous threat to our democracy. It is clear vested interests in India and outside are clearly driving this and needs to be deeply scrutinized/investigated and exposed. My view at this point is that these platforms could have released this much earlier, and not so late when elections are ending,” he added.

It is absolutely clear and obvious that @BJP4India was and is the target of influence operations, misinformation and foreign interference, being done by and/or on behalf of some Indian political parties.

This is very dangerous threat to our democracy. It is clear vested… https://t.co/e78pbEuHwe

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Modiyude Kutumbam) (@Rajeev_GoI) May 31, 2024

OpenAI said it has disrupted five covert operations in the last three months that sought to use our models in support of deceptive activity across the internet. “Our investigations into suspected covert influence operations (IO) are part of a broader strategy to meet our goal of safe AI deployment.”