New Delhi, July 13 -- Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Quraishi on Monday asserted that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Election Commission's India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIDEM) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) had "no financial or legal implication", rejecting allegations linking the agreement to the controversy surrounding USAID funding in India.

Speaking to ANI, Quraishi said the MoU, signed just 13 days before his retirement, was aimed solely at strengthening training programmes for election officials from other countries and did not involve any financial commitment by the Election Commission.

"When Donald Trump came for a second ...