India on Thursday slammed US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s remarks on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, calling them “unacceptable interference” in the country’s internal affairs.
“The remarks by @RepJayapal on India’s electoral and political processes are unacceptable interference in India’s internal affairs,” India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra said in a post on X.
Kwatra said India was a vibrant democracy with robust, independent constitutional institutions and a longstanding record of free and fair elections.
He added that he remained open to constructive conversations with Jayapal to dispel what he described as her misconceptions.
On Wednesday, the Democratic lawmaker from Washington state expressed concern over the deletion of around 130 million names from India’s draft electoral rolls, describing it as a “purge”.
She also voiced support for non-violent protests against what she termed “anti-democratic efforts” in India.
Jayapal drew parallels between the developments in India and the Trump administration’s actions in the US, alleging that both reflected similar attempts to undermine voting rights. She said people in both countries deserved free and fair elections and stressed the importance of protecting democracies.
According to Election Commission of India data, around 7.2 crore names were deleted from draft electoral rolls during the first two phases of the SIR, conducted across 13 states and Union Territories. In the ongoing third phase, draft rolls published in 18 states and Union Territories have recorded 6.16 crore deletions.
The Election Commission has maintained that the exercise aims to update electoral rolls by removing entries of deceased, duplicate, shifted and otherwise ineligible voters.
It has also said that voters whose names were inadvertently omitted can seek inclusion through the claims and objections process and subsequently by submitting Form 6.
(With inputs from PTI)
