Who is Pramila Jayapal? Chennai-born US Congresswoman backs protests against India’s SIR, 13 million voters cut out | Today’s news
Indian-origin Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has expressed dismay at reports of 13 million voter names being removed from draft electoral rolls in India under the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The democratic leader’s remarks come as India is witnessing massive street protests by opposition parties and student groups demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls.
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“I am deeply troubled by the Indian government’s actions to purge 130 million people from the voter rolls,” Jayapal said in a post on X, the first such comment by a US lawmaker on the issue.
The remarks amid massive anti-CEC protests in India
The Democratic congresswoman from Washington state said she supports non-violent protests against “anti-democratic efforts in India”. She said the developments in India appear to be similar to what the Trump administration is doing in the US to undermine voting rights in a democracy.
The US politician’s remarks take on significance amid massive protests by the opposition, led by Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, against the SIR, with protesters demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities. Gandhi led many protests in the streets of the capital, including the one on October 12, which was attended by thousands of people.
In her remarks, Jayapal said that protecting democracies everywhere is critical work, and the Indian people — like the American people — deserve free and fair elections.
“Non-violent resistance movements are necessary in these times and I stand with the people of India who are participating in non-violent protests against anti-democratic efforts in India,” Jayapal said.
According to statistics shared by the Election Commission of India, around 7.2 million names were struck from the nominations in the first and second phases, when the SIR was held in 13 states and union territories.
During the ongoing third phase, when the draft lists of 18 states and union territories are being published, the number of deleted voters stands at 6.16 million.
The commission said that if a voter’s real name was inadvertently omitted during the SIR process, the voter could apply for inclusion through the claims and objections process and subsequently through Form 6.
Who is Pramila Jayapal?
Elected in 2016, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is now serving her fifth term in Congress representing Washington’s 7th District. Jayapal, 61, is the first South Asian American woman elected to the US House of Representatives and one of only two dozen naturalized citizens currently serving in the United States Congress.
Jayapal was born on 21 September 1965 to a Malay Nair family in Chennai, India to Maya Jayapal, a writer, and Muduvangad Puthanveetil Jayapal, a marketing professional.
Raised in India, Indonesia and Singapore, Jayapal came to the United States at the age of 16 to study at Georgetown University. She later earned an MBA from Northwestern University, worked in a variety of industries in both the public and private sectors, and in 2000 published her first book, Pilgrimage to India: A Woman Revisits Her Homeland. She has since published a second book, Use the Power You Have: A Brown Woman’s Guide to Politics and Political Change, according to her website.
Before entering elected office, Jayapal spent twenty years working internationally and domestically in the global public health and development sectors. She has worked with the international non-profit organization Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) for more than ten years and spent 12 years as the founder and executive director of OneAmerica, the largest immigrant advocacy organization in Washington state.
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As a congresswoman, Jayapal is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee, where she serves as an assessment member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Law Enforcement. She also serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where she serves on the Subcommittee on Africa and the Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, according to her website.
“Fighting the Trump Administration’s Inhumane Policies”
Jayapal is chairman emeritus of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which represents nearly 50% of the entire Democratic caucus; Chair of the Immigration Task Force for the Congressional Asia-Pacific Asian Caucus; and Vice Chair of the Congressional Committee on LGBTQ Equality, where she co-chairs the Transgender Equality Task Force.
Rep. Jayapal has been a leader in Congress on immigration, including fighting the Trump administration’s “inhumane” policy of separating children from their parents and creating legislation to create a fair and humane immigration system, the website says.
“Non-violent resistance movements are necessary in these times and I stand with the people of India who are participating in non-violent protests against anti-democratic efforts in India,” Jayapal said.
Jayapal helped introduce the THRIVE Act and other legislation to transition our economy to 100% clean energy and address the climate justice crisis.
