BJP on Friday slammed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani while accusing him of "interfering" in India's internal matter by writing a note for jailed activist Umar Khalid. The party has asserted that India will not tolerate any such effort.
Questioning Mamdani's locus standi of commenting on India's internal matters, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia also cautioned the New York City Mayor against such efforts, asserting, "If India's sovereignty is challenged, 140 crore Indians will stand united under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership." People of India have "complete faith" in the country's judiciary, he added.
Reacting sharply, Bhatia charged, "If anybody comes out in support of any accused and interferes in India's internal matters, the country will not tolerate it." "Who is this outsider to raise questions on our democracy and judiciary, and that too coming in support of a person who wants to break India? This is not fair," the BJP spokesperson said at a press conference at the party headquarters here, when asked about Mamdani's note.
The note was posted on X by Khalid's partner Banojyotsna Lahiri. "When prisons try to isolate, words travel. Zohran Mamdani writes to Umar Khalid," the caption accompanying the note said."Dear Umar, I think of your words on bitterness often, and the importance of not letting it consume one's self. It was a pleasure to meet your parents. We are all thinking of you," the handwritten note signed by Mamdani said.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday also slammed Mamdani for his note for jailed activist Umar Khalid, alleging that he insulted the Quran by coming out in defence of "criminals who talk about dividing India". This came after Mamdani wrote a note for Khalid, recalling his words on "bitterness" and the importance of not letting it consume one's self.Khalid and a few others have been booked under the stringent anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, (UAPA) 1967, and provisions of the IPC for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 Delhi riots, which left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
Reacting sharply to the US lawmakers' letter, VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal said, "The so-called US lawmakers and the New York City Mayor are standing by criminals in India but keep mum on what's happening in Bangladesh. They also keep mum when Hindus and their temples are attacked in the US." Criticising Mamdani for writing a note for Khalid, the VHP spokesperson said the New York City mayor should have ascertained the "truth" about him before doing so.
"What kind of mindset is this? Standing by killers… The newly elected mayor, who took an oath on the Quran, is insulting it. This is not right," Bansal said and asked Mamdani to "introspect".
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