Six members of the Democratic caucus — including Pramila Jayapal and Ilhan Omar — have sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to raise allegations of police misconduct during student protests in Delhi and other parts of India when he meets with Indian counterparts.
The six lawmakers — Jayapal, Omar, McGovern, Tlaib, Holmes Norton, and Garcia — also put forward allegations that India's embassy and its consular offices across several American cities had stationed photographers at protest sites to monitor demonstrators on U.S. soil.
Rubio was scheduled to travel to India the following week, with a meeting planned with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Mumbai. The congressional representatives sent him the letter on Friday, raising 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 letter pointed to two episodes as evidence of force used against demonstrators: public protests directed at Dharmendra Pradhan during his tenure as Education Minister, and continuing rallies calling on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to step down from his post.
Jayapal also raised concerns about the Special Intensive Revision process after draft electoral rolls in India reflected a reduction of roughly 130 million registered names.
India's envoy to the United States, Kwatra, characterised remarks by Jayapal as an unacceptable intrusion into matters the country considers its own domestic concern. The lawmakers, for their part, called on Rubio to take up what they described as shared questions about the free exercise of fundamental freedoms and voting rights — values they said lie at the heart of both nations' democratic traditions.
Bhutoria, identified as a Democratic leader and former White House adviser, put forward the position that India holds the distinction of being the world's largest democracy, one equipped with its own judiciary, a free press, and an electorate exceeding 900 million people. Bhutoria, who had previously served in an advisory capacity under former President Biden, posted the remark on X.
Some lawmakers have raised objections to what they describe as congressional scrutiny of India's domestic policies, arguing that such oversight puts strain on the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
Separately, the group of U.S. legislators called on Rubio to press the Indian government to carry out thorough, transparent, and independent inquiries into alleged human rights violations tied to how authorities handled the protests. The group further called on Rubio to push for the release of anyone held in violation of domestic and international legal standards while peacefully exercising rights to free expression and public assembly.
Lawmakers additionally called on Rubio to look into accounts that Indian diplomatic posts had been monitoring and pressuring protesters on American soil. The group also called on federal authorities to examine whether a sustained pattern of intimidation or harassment targeting people on American soil could render India ineligible for weapons transfers under the Arms Export Control Act.
