India’s ambassador to America Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Thursday criticised US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal for her “unacceptable interference” on India’s electoral processes and in the country’s internal affairs.
Jayapal, an Indian-origin Democratic representative from Washington state, expressed concern over reports that around 13 crore names had been removed from India’s electoral rolls during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR). “I am deeply concerned about the actions of the Indian government to purge 130 million people from the voting rolls. Opposition parties have questioned the scale of the exclusions, claiming over 13 crore people were removed by chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to favour PM Narendra Modi ‘s BJP in winning elections. On Tuesday, the US Justice Department gave California election officials 48 hours to review a list of people it suspected were non-US citizens registered to vote.
This appears to be a similar playbook to what the Trump Administration is doing here at home to undermine voting rights in a democracy,” she wrote on X. Federal law prohibits non-US citizens from voting in federal elections. The administration has sought access to state voter-registration records and has tried to use federal databases to check voters’ eligibility. These efforts have faced legal challenges, with critics arguing that inaccurate records could lead to eligible citizens being wrongly identified as ineligible. It threatened legal action if officials failed to comply.
Jayapal said she was “deeply concerned” as she alleged efforts to remove 130 million people from voter rolls in India, drawing a comparison with efforts by US President Donald Trump ‘s administration to undermine voting rights. The White House says the aim is to protect election integrity and maintain public confidence in elections.
