Who Is Pramila Jayapal ? Indian-Origin US Congresswoman At Centre Of SIR Row

India’s Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, on Thursday criticised US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal over her remarks on India’s electoral process, calling them “unacceptable interference” in the country’s internal affairs.

Jayapal, an Indian-origin Democratic representative from Washington state, had expressed concern over reports that around 13 crore names had been removed from India’s electoral rolls during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

“The remarks by [Jayapal] on India’s electoral and political processes are unacceptable interference in India’s internal affairs,” Kwatra wrote on X.

He said India was a “vibrant democracy” with robust, independent constitutional institutions and a longstanding record of free and fair elections. Kwatra also said he was open to a constructive conversation with the congresswoman to dispel her misconceptions.

Jayapal had said she was “deeply concerned” about what she described as efforts to remove 130 million people from voter rolls in India. Drawing a comparison with the Donald Trump administration’s actions in the United States, she alleged that the exercise appeared to follow a similar approach to undermining voting rights in a democracy.

Who Is Pramila Jayapal ?

Pramila Jayapal is a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives who represents Washington’s 7th Congressional District, encompassing most of Seattle and surrounding areas, including Shoreline, Vashon Island, Lake Forest Park, and parts of Burien and Normandy Park.

First elected in 2016, she is currently serving her fifth term in Congress. She is the first South Asian American woman elected to the US House of Representatives and one of the naturalised citizens serving in the US Congress.

Born in India, Jayapal grew up in India, Indonesia and Singapore. She moved to the United States by herself at the age of 16 to attend Georgetown University. She later received an MBA from Northwestern University and worked in the public and private sectors.

Jayapal published her first book, Pilgrimage to India: A Woman Revisits Her Homeland, in 2000. She has since published a second book, Use the Power You Have: A Brown Woman’s Guide to Politics and Political Change, which focuses on politics and political change.

Jayapal’s Role In The US Congress

Jayapal is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, where she serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement. She is also a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, serving on its Subcommittees on Africa and South and Central Asia, and the House Budget Committee.

She is Chair Emerita of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which represents nearly half of the Democratic caucus. She also chairs the Immigration Task Force for the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and serves as a vice chair of the Congressional LGBTQ Equality Caucus, where she co-chairs the Transgender Equality Task Force.

Her legislative work has focused on immigration, income inequality, healthcare, education, workers’ rights and climate justice.

In Congress, Jayapal has opposed the Trump administration’s policies on immigration, including the separation of children from their parents. She has also worked on legislation concerning a $15 minimum wage, expanded collective bargaining rights and universal healthcare.

She was the lead sponsor of the Medicare for All bill in the House and authored the College for All Act, which seeks to ensure access to higher education for every American. Other legislation she has authored includes the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, the Housing is a Human Right Act and the National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. She has also helped introduce the THRIVE Act, which seeks to transition the economy to 100% clean energy and address climate justice.

From Immigrant Advocacy To Electoral Politics

Before entering elected office, Jayapal spent two decades working in global public health and development and advocating for women’s, immigrant, civil and human rights.

She worked for nearly a decade on global health and development at the international non-profit organisation Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH).

She later founded and served as executive director of OneAmerica, described as the largest immigrant advocacy organisation in Washington state and one of the largest in the United States. She held the position for 12 years before entering electoral politics.

Her background in immigrant advocacy and her work on immigration policy have been central to her political career.