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).
“The remarks by [Jayapal] on India’s electoral and political processes are unacceptable interference in India’s internal affairs,” Kwatra said on X.
“India is a vibrant democracy, with robust, independent constitutional institutions and a longstanding record of free and fair elections. Always open to constructive conversation with the Congresswoman to dispel her misconceptions,” he wrote.
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.
“I am deeply concerned about the actions of the Indian government to purge 130 million people from the voting rolls. 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.
About the SIR controversy
The controversy centres on the ECI's SIR, a nationwide exercise to verify electoral rolls and remove entries considered ineligible. The ECI says the revision is necessary to update voter lists by identifying deceased voters, duplicate registrations and people who have permanently shifted or cannot be traced.
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.
The poll panel rejected the opposition's description of the entire figure as confirmed voter deletions, saying eligible electors could apply for inclusion in the rolls.
The controversy intensified after The Indian Express reported in September that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months on issues linked to the revision, registration procedures and digital electoral-roll systems. The report said the commissioners had raised concerns about decisions taken by Gyanesh Kumar without their knowledge.
What Trump is doing on voter rolls
Trump's administration has stepped up efforts to check voter-registration records and identify people it believes may be ineligible to vote.
The White House says the aim is to protect election integrity and maintain public confidence in elections. 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.
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. It threatened legal action if officials failed to comply.
The department also asked officials to withhold or set aside ballots linked to the people on the list until their citizenship was confirmed. The demand came after California had begun mailing ballots to voters ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said his office was reviewing the request with state officials. He said the county had not opened the USB drive containing the names because of concerns about data security.
The Justice Department said it was enforcing federal election law. Critics, however, questioned the timing of the demand and warned that errors in government records could affect eligible voters. Being flagged for verification does not, by itself, mean that someone is a non-citizen or has voted illegally.