India’s Ruling Party is all Fire against New York Mayor Mamdani

The ruling party of India, Bharatiya Janata Party, is all fire against newly inaugurated New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

Body: The ruling party of India, Bharatiya Janata Party, is all fire against newly inaugurated New York City Mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

BJP accused Mamdani of interfering with India’s internal affairs with writing a note to jailed activist Umar Khalid.

The BJP said India would not tolerate such actions and questioned Mamdani’s locus standi to comment on India’s internal matters.

Media reports said that Umar’s father Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas met then New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani is learnt to have to said Ilyas that he read Umar’s jailed diary. It was during this meeting Mamdani wrote a letter to Umar Khalid that 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.”

Jawaharlal Nehru University student Umar Khalid has been behind the bars since long on various changes.

Indians had hugely celebrated the election of Zohran Mamdani to the top post of United States’s largest city, New York as his roots are linked with India’s Gujarat province where the ruling party has a huge presence.

However, with Mamdani’s letter for Umar Khalid, popularity of Mamdani in India has taken a different turn.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Umar Khalid, had been a strong critic of the government.

Meanwhile, the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom in its site, reflects,

“Umar Khalid is detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.

“On September 13, 2020, authorities arrested Khalid, a student activist, after accusing him of inciting communal violence through speeches in February 2020. Khalid was targeted for leading peaceful protests opposing the religious discriminatory Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). Khalid is charged under FIR 59/2020 with offenses under the IPC, 1967 Arms Act, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Charges include but are not limited to rioting (Sec. 147 IPC), rioting with a deadly weapon (Sec. 148 IPC), murder (Sec. 302 IPC), attempted murder (Sec. 307 IPC), sedition (Sec. 124A IPC), "promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony" (Sec. 153A IPC), unlawful activities (Sec. 13 UAPA), terrorist acts (Sec. 16 UAPA), raising funds for terrorist acts (Sec. 17 UAPA), and conspiracy (Sec. 18 UAPA).

“On April 15, 2021, a Delhi court granted Khalid bail. Khalid, however, was forced to remain in prison in light of other charges against him.

On December 12, 2022, a Delhi court granted Khalid temporary bail from December 23 to December 30 to attend his sister's wedding.”