Washington: Six US Democratic lawmakers, including Pramila Jayapal and Ilhan Omar, have urged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to raise concerns with his Indian counterparts over the alleged excessive use of force during student protests in Delhi and other parts of India.
The lawmakers, Jayapal, Omar, Jim McGovern, Rashida Tlaib, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Jesus Garcia, accused the Indian Embassy in Washington and consulates in other American cities of deploying photographers to surveil protesters demonstrating in support of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP).
Rubio is scheduled to visit India next week and meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Mumbai.
“We write with concern regarding a pattern of repression, wrongful detention, and excessive use of force by security forces during student protests in Delhi and other localities across India,” the lawmakers said in a letter to Rubio on Friday.
In their letter, the lawmakers cited CJP protests against then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and ongoing demonstrations demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as examples of the alleged excessive use of force against protesters.
Referring to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Jayapal expressed concern over what she described as the “purge” of 130 million voters from India’s draft electoral rolls and voiced support for the CJP.
India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, had criticised Jayapal’s remarks, calling them “unacceptable interference in India’s internal affairs”.
“The free exercise of fundamental freedoms and the right to vote is core to the democratic identities of both the United States and India,” the lawmakers said.
“We ask that you use the occasion of your visit to raise these issues of great mutual concern to our two peoples,” they added.
Democratic leader and former White House adviser Ajay Jain Bhutoria criticised Jayapal over the letter to Rubio.
“India is the world's largest democracy with its own courts, free press and 900M+ voters. Congress has no business lecturing New Delhi on its internal affairs and undermines a vital US-India partnership. Focus on US problems,” Bhutoria, who served as an adviser to former US President Joe Biden, said on X.
The lawmakers urged Rubio to press the Indian government to initiate thorough, transparent and independent investigations into alleged human rights violations linked to law enforcement responses to protests.
They also called on him to encourage the release of anyone detained in violation of Indian or international law for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
The lawmakers further asked Rubio to investigate reports that Indian diplomatic missions had engaged in the surveillance and intimidation of protesters in the United States.
They urged the US government to assess whether India had engaged in a consistent pattern of intimidation or harassment against individuals in the US and was therefore ineligible for arms sales under the Arms Export Control Act.