US lawmaker concerned over 'purging' 130 million voters from electoral rolls in India

Washington (PTI): The Indian-origin US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal on Wednesday voiced concern over reports of the removal of 13 crore voter names from the draft electoral rolls in India.

“I am deeply concerned about the actions of the Indian government to purge 130 million people from the voting rolls,” Jayapal said in a post on X, marking the first such comments by a US lawmaker on the issue.

The Democratic Congresswoman from Washington state said she supported the non-violent protests to counter "anti-democratic efforts in India.”

Jayapal said the developments in India appear to be a similar playbook to what the Trump Administration is doing in the US to undermine voting rights in a democracy.

She said protecting democracies everywhere is essential work, and the Indian people -- like the American people -- deserve free and fair elections.

“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,” Jayapal said.

According to statistics shared by the Election Commission of India, around 7.2 crore names were deleted from the draft rolls in the first and second phases when the SIR was held in 13 states and union territories.

During the ongoing third phase, where draft lists of 18 States and Union Territories are published, the number of deleted voters stands at 6.16 crore.

The Commission has said that if a genuine voter’s name was inadvertently left out during the SIR process, the voter could seek inclusion through the claims and objections process and subsequently through Form 6.