US lawmakers write to Trump's secretary of state over Delhi detentions as India rejects ‘interference’

US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal was among six lawmakers who wrote to secretary of state Marco Rubio on Friday, ahead of his visit to India , raising concerns over a “pattern of repression, wrongful detention, and excessive use of force by security forces during student protests”. They urged him to “press the Indian government to initiate thorough, transparent, and independent investigations”.

This comes after New Delhi’s rejection of Jayapal’s earlier remarks on the revision of India’s electoral rolls. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) had called her comments unwarranted and said they amounted to interference in the “electoral practices of a fellow democracy”.

Apart from concerns over detentions, the lawmakers also flagged “incidents of apparent surveillance and intimidation of individuals exercising their fundamental rights on United States soil by individuals in the employ of or acting in coordination with the Indian Embassy and consulates”.

Besides Jayapal, the letter was signed by James P McGovern, Jesus G "Chuy" Garcia, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. They urged Rubio to raise these concerns with his Indian counterparts during his scheduled visit.

The letter also questioned the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in India, alleging that “the process lacked transparency”.

The lawmakers called on Rubio to urge the Indian government to investigate “alleged human rights violations connected to the law enforcement response to protests”.

They also sought the “release of any individuals detained in contravention to Indian and international law for peacefully exercising the rights to freedom of expression and assembly”.

On Wednesday, Jayapal raised concerns over reports that 13 crore names had been removed from India’s draft electoral rolls.

Jayapal, who was born in Chennai and moved to the US in 1982, said on social media that she was “deeply concerned about the actions of the Indian government to purge 130 million people from the voting rolls”. She added that the move “appears to be a similar playbook to what the Trump Administration is doing [in the US] to undermine voting rights in a democracy”.

Responding to her comments during his bi-weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We find the remarks of the Congresswoman unwarranted and uninformed and tantamount to interfering in the electoral practices of a fellow democracy."

Jayapal’s remarks came amid protests by young people and Opposition parties in India over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The exercise has led to the removal of millions of names from voter lists.

Follow the latest breaking news, major developments and agenda-setting stories from India and around the world with the newsdesk at Hindustan Times. Operating round the clock, the desk brings together experienced editors, reporters and correspondents to deliver fast, accurate and contextual reporting across subjects that influence public policy, governance, business, society and international affairs.