On Thursday, India strongly rejected a statement made by US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal concerning revisions to the voter list by the Indian Election Commission. Vinay Mohan Kwatra, India’s Ambassador to the United States, called Jayapal’s remarks an unacceptable interference in India’s internal affairs through a post on social media platform X.
Jayapal had voiced concern on Wednesday about the removal of approximately 130 million names from the draft voter lists. Ambassador Kwatra defended India’s democratic process, emphasizing the country’s vibrant democracy and robust, independent institutions that have upheld fair elections for many years.
Indian Envoy Offers Dialogue
The Indian ambassador expressed willingness to engage constructively with Jayapal to clarify any misunderstandings she may have. Pramila Jayapal, a Democratic Party member from Washington state, also expressed support for the peaceful protests against what she described as anti-democratic efforts in India.
Jayapal compared the situation in India to actions taken by the Trump administration in the US, which she said aimed to weaken voting rights within a democracy. She underscored the global importance of protecting democratic rights and asserted that citizens in India, like those in America, deserve the right to free and fair elections.
Voter List Revision Details
According to the Election Commission of India, around 72 million names were removed during the first two phases of the process to revise and update the voter rolls, known as the Special Summary Revision (SSR), across 13 states and union territories. The ongoing third phase, covering 18 regions, has seen roughly 61.6 million names removed from draft lists.
The Election Commission clarified that this effort aims to maintain accurate electoral rolls by deleting names of deceased voters, duplicates, those who have relocated, or those otherwise ineligible. Real voters whose names might have been mistakenly omitted during SSR can appeal by filing claims and objections or submitting Form 6 to be reinstated.
This process is intended to ensure the integrity of voter lists ahead of upcoming elections, maintaining transparency and democratic standards in India’s election system.
