India Rejects Jayapal’s Criticism of Voter Roll Revision

India’s ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, rejected U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal’s criticism of India’s electoral-roll revision, calling her remarks unacceptable interference in the country’s internal affairs. The exchange followed Jayapal’s concern over reported deletions from draft voter lists and her support for nonviolent protests. Jayapal, a Democratic member of Congress from Washington state, said around 130 million names had been removed from India’s draft electoral rolls and described the action as a purge. She also said the developments resembled efforts to undermine voting rights in the United States and voiced support for Indians engaging in nonviolent protests. Her remarks were made on October 14. Kwatra said India had robust, independent constitutional institutions and a longstanding record of free and fair elections. He said he was open to a constructive conversation with Jayapal to address what he called misconceptions. India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also described her comments as unwarranted and uninformed, and said they amounted to interference in another democracy’s electoral practices. The Election Commission...