India has strongly rejected comments made by US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal on the country's electoral process, with the Ministry of External Affairs describing her remarks as "unwarranted" and "uninformed".

Responding to questions during a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Jayapal's observations amounted to interference in the electoral practices of a fellow democracy.

Jaiswal stated that such an approach undermines democratic principles and fails to recognise the functioning of India's democratic institutions.

The response came after Jayapal expressed concern over reports relating to the revision of electoral rolls in India and alleged that 130 million people were being removed from voter lists.

In a post on X, the Democratic lawmaker from Washington state said she was deeply concerned about what she described as efforts by the Indian government to purge 130 million people from the voting rolls.

A day earlier, India's Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, had also dismissed the allegations in strong terms.

Kwatra described Jayapal's comments as unacceptable interference in India's internal affairs and defended the integrity of India's electoral and political systems.

He emphasised that India is a vibrant democracy with robust and independent constitutional institutions, supported by a longstanding record of conducting free and fair elections.

The ambassador further said he remained open to a constructive dialogue with the Congresswoman to address what he characterised as misconceptions about India's democratic processes.

Jayapal, who was born in Chennai and later moved to the United States, has previously been critical of certain policies of the Indian government.

She earlier served as chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and had attracted attention in 2019 when she introduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives concerning restrictions imposed in Kashmir.

The controversy centres on the Election Commission of India's ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, a nationwide exercise aimed at updating voter records. The Election Commission has maintained that the exercise is intended to identify duplicate, deceased, shifted and otherwise ineligible entries to improve the accuracy of electoral rolls.

According to the Commission, lists containing such entries have been publicly displayed and shared with recognised political parties as part of the verification process.

The poll body has also clarified that any individual whose name has been removed from the rolls can apply for enrolment and restoration in accordance with established procedures.

The exchange highlights renewed scrutiny of India's voter roll revision exercise at a time when the Election Commission continues to defend the process as transparent, rules-based and subject to constitutional safeguards.

ANI