Former USAID India mission director Veena Reddy is under investigation after US President Donald Trump contested a $21 million aid package allegedly meant to “increase voter turnout” in India. According to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), USAID allegedly provided the money to the Indian Election Commission.
The news has set off a political firestorm in India. BJP has accused Trump’s remark as proof of foreign interference in Indian elections, whereas Congress has rubbished the charges as “nonsensical.” Questions have also been raised about Reddy’s conduct while she was USAID’s India director. But neither Reddy nor USAID has put out an official statement on the controversy.
Who is Veena Reddy?
Veena Reddy is a retired US diplomat and development specialist who served as the USAID mission director in India and Bhutan from 2021 to 2024. She was the first Indian-American mission director. A native of Andhra Pradesh, she has also served in the US Foreign Service.
Reddy has overseen USAID operations in the past in Cambodia as mission director and in Haiti as deputy mission director, with responsibility for managing post-earthquake reconstruction and economic development activities. She also was an assistant general counsel in Washington, DC, where she advised on legal issues for USAID programs in the Middle East and Asia.
Prior to entering the US government, Reddy was a corporate lawyer in New York, London, and Los Angeles. She is a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Columbia University School of Law and has a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago.
BJP Demands Probe Into Reddy’s Tenure
BJP MP Mahesh Jethmalani demanded an inquiry into Veena Reddy’s involvement in the USAID funding. He connected her 2021 appointment as USAID’s India mission director with the reported interference in Indian elections.
“So, DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) has discovered that USAID allocated $21 million for ‘voter turnout’ in India—a euphemism for paying voters to influence regime change. Veena Reddy was sent to India in 2021 (ominous?) as head of USAID’s India mission. Post Lok Sabha elections 2024, she returned to the US. Pity, because investigating agencies here could have questioned her on who received the money for voter turnout operations,” Jethmalani tweeted on X.
Veena Reddy’s Departure from India Sparks Eyebrows
On July 17, 2024, a little more than a month after the Lok Sabha election results, Reddy had confirmed her departure from India, as per media reports. Although her departure might appear to be normal, BJP leaders have expressed concerns regarding the timing and called for an investigation into her role in the USAID funding.
With the row over USAID’s financial contribution to India gathering pace, the BJP and Congress keep trading charges. As probes continue, the issue of foreign funding in Indian elections is likely to be a major political topic in the weeks ahead.