US Lawmaker Calls for Review of Arms Sales to India Over Allegations of Transnational Repression

NEW DELHI: A Democratic US lawmaker has called for a review of US arms sales to India over allegations of transnational repression, even as a revised Russia sanctions bill backed by late Senator Lindsey Graham has gained the support of more than 60 bipartisan co-sponsors in the Senate. The call was made during a congressional briefing titled India's Transnational Repression: Implications for US National Security , held at the Cannon House Office Building on July 14. The event was organised by Equitas Forum USA along with several advocacy groups, with support from the office of Democratic House member Summer Lee. In recorded remarks, Democratic House member Jim McGovern, co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, described India as a repeated perpetrator of transnational repression and urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to review India's eligibility for US arms sales under the Arms Export Control Act. "More must be done to ensure that no person in this country lives in fear of a foreign government's threats," McGovern said, while calling for the passage of the bipartisan Transnational Repression Policy Act.