Pramila Jayapal had raised concerns on Wednesday over reports of large-scale deletions from India's electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
US lawmaker Pramila Jayapal. (Photo: Reuters)
New Delhi,Oct 16, 2026 23:52 IST
India on Friday strongly rejected US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal's criticism of the Election Commission's revision of electoral rolls, describing her remarks as "unwarranted and uninformed". The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said her comments amounted to interference in the electoral processes of another democracy.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to questions about Jayapal's criticism during his bi-weekly media briefing, stressing that such statements undermined democratic principles and disregarded India's internal electoral processes.
"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.
Jayapal, a US lawmaker, had raised concerns on Wednesday over reports of large-scale deletions from India's electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
In a post on X, she said, "I am deeply concerned about the actions of the Indian government to purge 130 million people from the voting rolls," becoming the first US lawmaker to publicly comment on the issue.
She also drew parallels between the developments in India and the Trump Administration's actions in the US, alleging that both reflected a similar approach towards voting rights.
Jayapal emphasised the importance of safeguarding democratic institutions across countries, arguing that citizens in both India and the US deserved elections that were free and fair.
Her remarks came amid protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the electoral roll revision exercise and allegations of irregularities in the polling process.
UNACCEPTABLE: INDIAN ENVOY TO US
India's ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, had also criticised Jayapal's comments a day earlier.
In a post on X on Thursday, he said, "The remarks by @RepJayapal on India's electoral and political processes are unacceptable interference in India's internal affairs".
The exchanges highlight growing differences over international commentary on India's electoral processes, with New Delhi maintaining that such matters fall within its domestic jurisdiction.
SIR PROCESS ENTERS PHASE 3
According to figures released by the Election Commission of India, approximately 7.2 crore names were removed from draft electoral rolls during the first two phases of the SIR exercise, which covered 13 states and Union Territories.
The revision process has since entered its third phase, involving 18 states and Union Territories where draft electoral lists have been published.
During this phase, another 6.16 crore voter names have been deleted, taking the reported total across the three phases to over 13 crore.
The Election Commission has maintained that voters whose names were inadvertently excluded during the revision can seek their inclusion through the prescribed claims and objections procedure.
Eligible voters can also apply using Form 6 to have their names added to the electoral rolls.
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With PTI inputs