India’s US ambassador blasts Jayapal’s statement on voter rolls purge

Vinay Mohan Kwatra, India’s ambassador to the U.S., said Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s (D-Wash.) remarks on the recent protests in India following a nationwide revision of voter lists are an “unacceptable interference in India’s internal affairs.”

“India is a vibrant democracy, with robust, independent constitutional institutions and a longstanding record of free and fair elections,” Kwatra wrote in a social platform X post Thursday. “Always open to constructive conversation with the Congresswoman to dispel her misconceptions.”

His post was in response to Jayapal’s post Wednesday on X , where she expressed concern over the Indian government’s decision to remove 130 million people from voting rolls.

“I am deeply concerned about the actions of the Indian government to purge 130 million people from the voting rolls,” Jayapal wrote in her post.

“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 added.

On Monday, opposition leaders and thousands of supporters marched to India’s Supreme Court in the nation’s capital, New Delhi, and submitted a petition to the chief justice alleging the irregularities in the nationwide revision of voter lists, which would remove more than 130 million voters from the list, The Associated Press reported .

The protests led by the “Cockroach” youth movement intensified, with thousands of activists being detained over the weekend in a crackdown across New Delhi, according to the AP report.

While critics say the revision of the voter lists is a politically motivated move that favors Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission of India deny those allegations, saying this is a necessary step to remove duplicate and ineligible names, according to the AP report.

Earlier in the summer , the “Cockroach” movement sparked nationwide protests that lasted weeks leading to the resignation of the country’s education minister.

“Protecting democracies everywhere is essential work, and the Indian people — like the American people — deserve free and fair elections,” Jayapal added to her post. “Non-violent resistance movements are essential in these moments and I stand with the Indian people who are engaging in non-violent protests to counter anti-democratic efforts in India.”

The Hill has reached out to Jayapal’s office for comment.