The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday strongly reacted to a handwritten note written by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani to jailed activist Umar Khalid, saying that India will not tolerate any interference in its internal matters. The party asserted that the country’s judiciary is independent and trusted by its citizens, and outsiders have no right to comment on India’s democratic processes.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, “If any person supports an accused, comments on Bharat’s internal affairs, Bharat will not tolerate it. Each Indian citizen has complete faith in India’s judiciary.”

Bhatia questioned the authority of foreign individuals commenting on India’s legal system. “Who is an outsider to question our democracy and judiciary? And that too in support of someone who wants to break India into pieces? This is not right,” he said. Emphasising national unity and sovereignty, he added, “When it comes to India’s sovereignty, 140 crore Indians will stand against it under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

The remarks came after a handwritten note by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani to Umar Khalid was made public on Thursday. Khalid, a former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union leader, is currently in jail in connection with cases linked to the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots. He has been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The note was addressed “Dear Umar” and delivered to Khalid’s parents during their visit to the United States in December 2025. It became public on the day Mamdani, of Indian origin, was sworn in as the mayor of New York City.

A photograph of the note was shared on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, by Khalid’s partner, Banojyotsna Lahiri. The note read, “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.”

Reacting sharply to the note, Bhatia said India “would not tolerate” such actions and described them as interference in the country’s internal affairs.

At the same press conference, the BJP spokesperson also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Bhatia alleged that Gandhi meets “anti-India forces and enemies of India” during his visits abroad and encourages them to spread “falsehood” about the country.

“It is not appropriate for him (Gandhi, as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha) to have enmity with India and maintain brotherhood with George Soros (American billionaire and investor) and Ilhan Omar (US lawmaker). This is not fair. People of India will never forgive him,” Bhatia said.

Meanwhile, the issue has also drawn attention from lawmakers in the United States. A group of US legislators has written a letter to India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, urging that Umar Khalid be granted bail and provided a “fair, timely trial in accordance with international law.”

US Representatives Jim McGovern and Jamie Raskin are among eight lawmakers who signed the letter. They expressed concern over what they described as prolonged pre-trial detention of individuals charged in connection with the February 2020 Delhi violence, including Khalid.

The letter stated, “The US and India share a long-standing strategic partnership that has historically been rooted in democratic values, constitutional governance and strong people-to-people ties.” It further said that as the world’s largest democracies, both countries have a shared interest in upholding freedom, the rule of law, human rights and pluralism.

“It is in this spirit,” the lawmakers wrote, “that we are raising our concerns regarding Khalid’s detention.”

They noted that Khalid “has been detained without bail for five years for charges levied under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act,” adding that independent human rights experts have warned that the law “may contravene international standards of equality before the law, due process and proportionality.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Umar Khalid’s father, Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, shared details of their meeting with Mamdani. Ilyas, who is 70 years old, said, “We had met Mr Mamdani on December 9 when we visited the US… We had earlier (in 2023) listened to him read out a letter from Umar’s diary, and we wished to meet him.”

He added that Mamdani was generous with his time. “He was kind enough to give us 25 minutes of his time. At the end of the meeting, he said he’d like to share a letter with Umar and wrote a few lines before we left,” Ilyas said.

Ilyas also mentioned that when Umar Khalid was granted a two-week interim bail to attend his sister’s wedding, the family showed him the note. “When Umar came back home for a few days to attend his sister’s wedding, we showed that letter to him,” he said.

Khalid’s parents, Sahiba Khanam and Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, had travelled to the United States to visit their daughter ahead of the family wedding.

The BJP, however, maintained that India’s legal processes must not be questioned by outsiders and reiterated that matters related to the country’s judiciary and sovereignty are strictly internal.