India on Friday (October 16, 2026) rejected U.S.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s remarks questioning the Election Commission’s revision of electoral rolls as unwarranted and uninformed and tantamount to “interfering in the electoral practices of a fellow democracy”.
Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, during his bi-weekly media briefing, when asked about her criticism, said, “We find the remarks of the Congresswoman unwarranted and uninformed and tantamount to interfering in the electoral practices of a fellow democracy. “This is an approach that undermines democracy itself,” he said.
Ms. She had alleged that the developments in India appear to be a similar playbook to what the Trump Administration is doing in the U.S. to undermine voting rights in a democracy. Ms.
Around 7.2 crore names were deleted from the draft rolls in the first and second phases when the SIR was held in 13 States and Union Territories, according to statistics shared by the Election Commission of India. The Commission has said that if a genuine voter’s name was inadvertently left out during the SIR process, the voter could seek inclusion through the claims and objections process and subsequently through Form 6. Earlier reporting noted: Jayapal, an Indian-origin lawmaker from the Democratic Party who has been a vocal critic of the Indian government, said on social media on Thursday that she was concerned about actions that appeared aimed at purging 130 million people from voting rolls.
Jayapal in a post on X, had said, “I am deeply concerned about the actions of the Indian government to purge 130 million people from the voting rolls,” making it the first such comment by a U.S. lawmaker on the issue. Jayapal said protecting democracies everywhere is essential work, and the Indian people — like the American people — deserve free and fair elections. Earlier reporting noted: India rejects US lawmaker Pramila Jayapal’s remarks on voter roll revision as ‘unwarranted’ India on Friday rejected senior US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s criticism of the revision of the country’s electoral rolls as unwarranted and tantamount to interfering in the “electoral practices of a fellow democracy”. Earlier reporting noted: When external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked about the matter at a regular media briefing, he replied: “We find the remarks of the Congresswoman unwarranted and uninformed and tantamount to interfering in the electoral practices of a fellow democracy.”
