Veena Reddy USAID: Who is this former US diplomat under spotlight? - Details (2025)

Veena Reddy USAID : Veena Reddy , a former Foreign Service Officer of the U.S. Agency for International Development ( USAID ) is under the radar of Bhartiya Janta Party ( BJP ). Reddy has come under spotlight after US President Donald Trump questioned a $21 million aid package aimed at "boosting voter turnout" in India.

The funds, announced by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), were purportedly provided by USAID to the Indian Election Commission, as cited in a TOI report.

This incident triggered a political conflict in India, with the BJP saying that Trump's statement confirmed a foreign attempt to meddle in Indian elections and the Congress dismissing his statements as "nonsensical."

Why is Veena Reddy under spotlight ?

Veena Reddy's role in the incident has also been highlighted as her tenure as USAID’s India director has been under question. BJP MP Mahesh Jethmalani has raised questions about Veena Reddy's role.

Taking to his X account he wrote, "So #DOGE has discovered that #USAID allocated $21million for “voter turnout” in India ,a euphemism for paying voters to cast their votes to effect regime change. #VeenaReddy was sent to India in 2021 ( ominous?) as head of USAIDs Indian mission . Post #loksabha elections 2024 ( presumably her voter turnout mission done) she returned to the US. Pity because investigating agencies here could have asked her some questions about who this money was given to for applying it to voter turnout operations. She worked in close tandem here with US Ambassador #Garcetti in executing the agency’s objectives. Doubtless he will plead diplomatic immunity if asked about the voter turnout modus operandi."

"And of course USAIDs foreign objectives were directed by it’s ex Secretary of State( #AnthonyBlinken at the time) who will shed no light on the matter. So it’s up to our agencies vested with the power to protect the integrity and sovereignty of India to seize USAIDs accounts in India and follow the disbursal trail of the $21 million earmarked for the voter turnout project and unearth the stooges of rhe Democratic Deep State. They should then be visited with the full force of the law dealing with subverting the Indian State - in common parlance TREASON," he said.

Moreover, under Reddy's leadership, there was a rapid increase in USAID's distribution for Indian projects. In 2020, India received $83.2 million, which increased to $94.3 million in 2021. In 2022, funding reached $228 million, which is the highest since 2001, and then dropped to $175.7 million in 2023 and $151.8 million in 2024.

Who is Veena Reddy?

Veena Reddy is a former US diplomat and development expert who served as USAID's mission director in India and Bhutan. She was the first Indian American to occupy the role. Reddy has served as the Mission Director for USAID/Cambodia. Reddy was the Deputy Mission Director in Haiti, overseeing post-earthquake rehabilitation, elections, economic growth, food security interventions, storm response, and new strategy creation.

She earlier worked in Washington as an Assistant General Counsel, where she oversaw legal matters for USAID initiatives in Asia, the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. She has also worked for USAID missions in Pakistan, Central Asian Republics, and Central America.

Prior to her government service, Reddy was a corporate attorney at Rogers & Wells in New York and at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in London and Los Angeles. Reddy holds a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and an M.A. and B.A. from the University of Chicago. Also, she is a member of the New York and California bars.

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