NEW DELHI, Jan 2: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of interfering in India’s internal affairs after he wrote a note to jailed activist Umar Khalid, asserting that such actions would not be tolerated.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, party national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia questioned Mamdani’s authority to comment on India’s judicial process and sovereignty.
“If anybody comes out in support of an accused and interferes in India’s internal matters, the country will not tolerate it,” Bhatia said. “If India’s sovereignty is challenged, 140 crore Indians will stand united under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
Bhatia added that the people of India have “complete faith” in the country’s judiciary and rejected what he described as attempts to undermine democratic institutions.
The BJP’s response came after Mamdani wrote a handwritten note addressed to Khalid, which was shared on social media platform X by Khalid’s partner Banojyotsna Lahiri.
“When prisons try to isolate, words travel. Zohran Mamdani writes to Umar Khalid,” Lahiri wrote while posting the note.
In the message, Mamdani referred to Khalid’s past remarks on bitterness and resilience, writing that he often reflected on those words and that he had met Khalid’s parents.
Reacting to the note, Bhatia said, “Who is this outsider to raise questions on our democracy and judiciary, and that too in support of a person who wants to break India? This is not fair.”
Khalid is among several accused booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, and provisions of the IPC for alleged involvement in the February 2020 Delhi riots, in which 53 people were killed and over 700 injured.
