India Rejects US Lawmaker's Claims of Voter Purge
India's Ambassador to the US condemned Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal's claims that the Indian government purged 130 million voters from electoral rolls.
The Indian government and the Election Commission of India are facing criticism from US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal over the removal of approximately 130 million voters from electoral rolls during a Special Intensive Revision process. Jayapal characterized the removals as anti-democratic and compared the tactics to those used by the Donald Trump administration to undermine voting rights in the United States.
In response, India's Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, rejected the claims as unacceptable interference in internal affairs, asserting that India remains a vibrant democracy with independent constitutional institutions. The Election Commission of India provided data indicating that 72 million entries were removed in the first two phases of the revision and 61.6 million in the third, noting that legitimate voters may apply for reinstatement.
The controversy has sparked non-violent protests in India, including demonstrations in Delhi where approximately 7,000 people were detained on October 10. Protesters have called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Additionally, reports suggest that some BJP-ruled states have used these electoral deletions to deny citizens passport renewals and ration cards.
