Six Democratic members of Congress — including Pramila Jayapal and Ilhan Omar — have written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling on him to raise the issue of reported police force against student demonstrators in Delhi and elsewhere in India during his upcoming discussions with Indian counterparts.
The six lawmakers — Jayapal, Omar, McGovern, Tlaib, Holmes Norton, and Garcia — also put forward allegations in their letter that the Indian Embassy, along with consulates operating in several other American cities, had stationed photographers at protest sites to monitor demonstrators.
Rubio is scheduled to visit India next week, where talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are planned in Mumbai. In their letter, the congressional representatives raised concerns about what they described as a pattern of suppression, unlawful detention, and disproportionate force by security personnel during student demonstrations in Delhi and other parts of the country.
The lawmakers cited two episodes as examples of what they characterised as force applied against protesters beyond what the situation warranted: gatherings that had targeted Dharmendra Pradhan during his tenure as education minister, and ongoing demonstrations calling on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to vacate his post.
Jayapal also raised questions about what she described as the removal of 130 million names from India's provisional electoral rolls.
India's envoy to Washington, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, had characterised Jayapal's comments as an unacceptable intrusion into matters the country considers its own. The lawmakers, in their joint statement, called on Rubio to use the trip as an opportunity to address what they described as concerns shared by both nations — including the free exercise of fundamental freedoms and the right to vote, which they identified as central to the democratic identities of both countries.
Bhutoria, identified as a Democratic leader and former White House adviser, responded to the letter by noting that India holds the distinction of being the world's most populous democracy, one equipped with its own judicial system, an independent press, and an electorate exceeding 900 million voters. Posting on X, Bhutoria — who previously served as an adviser to former president Joe Biden — called on the United States to address its own domestic issues.
Some lawmakers have argued that pressing India on domestic policy matters puts at risk a strategically valuable bilateral relationship.
The group of American lawmakers separately called on Rubio to push the Indian government toward conducting thorough, transparent, and independent inquiries into alleged human rights violations tied to the law enforcement response to the protests. Among the requests put to Rubio was an appeal for him to press for the release of people held in connection with peaceful protest or expression in circumstances alleged to be in violation of both Indian domestic law and international legal standards.
Members of Congress also called on Rubio to launch a formal investigation into reports that Indian consular offices had tracked and applied pressure on protest activity occurring within the United States. The letter called on Washington to examine whether India's conduct toward people on American soil amounts to a sustained pattern of intimidation or harassment — behaviour that, if confirmed, would bar the country from receiving weapons under the Arms Export Control Act.
