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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Friday, January 2, strongly objected to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s handwritten note to jailed activist Umar Khalid, accusing him of interfering in India’s internal affairs and questioning the country’s judiciary, while asserting that such actions would not be tolerated.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia questioned Mamdani’s locus standi to comment on India’s legal and democratic institutions. Bhatia said, “If any person supports an accused, comments on India’s internal affairs, then India will not tolerate it. Who is an outsider to question our democracy and judiciary, not the least offering support for someone who wants to break India?”
He added that Indians have complete faith in the country’s judiciary and stressed that any challenge to India’s sovereignty would meet a united response. “If anybody comes out in support of any accused and interferes in India’s internal matters, the country will not tolerate it,” he said, adding that “140 crore Indians will stand united under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
The BJP’s reaction followed the circulation of a handwritten note penned by Mamdani for Umar Khalid, who has been in jail since September 2020 in connection with cases linked to the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots. The note, addressed “Dear Umar,” recalled Khalid’s reflections on “bitterness” and the importance of not letting it consume oneself. “It was a pleasure to meet your parents. We are all thinking of you,” the note said.
The note was reportedly delivered to Umar’s parents, Sahiba Khanam and Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, during their visit to the United States in December 2025. A photograph of the letter was posted on X by Khalid’s partner, Banojyotsna Lahiri, the same day Mamdani was sworn in as the mayor of New York.
Ilyas said the family had met Mamdani on December 9 during their US visit and that the mayor had spent around 25 minutes with them. He said Mamdani wrote the letter at the end of the meeting and shared it with the family before they left.
The BJP said the note was inappropriate and violated political decorum, especially given that Umar is an accused in serious cases related to violence. Bhatia said the letter amounted to an attempt to influence opinion on an ongoing judicial matter and questioned why a foreign political figure was commenting on India’s internal issues.
Umar Khalid has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being among the “masterminds” behind the February 2020 Delhi riots, which left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured. The Delhi Police have alleged that the violence was part of a larger conspiracy linked to protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Umar was granted interim bail for two weeks in December 2025 to attend his sister’s wedding.
The controversy has unfolded amid growing attention from overseas lawmakers. A group of eight US lawmakers, including Representatives James P McGovern and Jamie Raskin, recently wrote to India’s Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, urging that Umar be granted bail and a “fair, timely trial in accordance with international law.” The lawmakers cited concerns about prolonged pre-trial detention and referred to international human rights standards.
The BJP also used the occasion to launch a broader political attack on the Congress. Bhatia accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of meeting “anti-India forces” during his foreign trips and encouraging them to spread “falsehoods” against India. He alleged that Rahul acts as a “force multiplier” for voices critical of India abroad and accused him of lying about the country during overseas visits.
BJP IT department head Amit Malviya linked Mamdani’s note to what he described as the mayor’s “ideological clarity.” In a post on X, Malviya said that soon after taking oath as mayor, Mamdani appointed Ramzi Kassem as New York City’s chief counsel, noting that Kassem had previously defended a terror accused, and claimed this was not a coincidence.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) also criticised Mamdani for writing in support of Umar Khalid and accused him of defending individuals charged with serious crimes. VHP leaders said the New York mayor should have ascertained the facts of the case before issuing such a note.