New Delhi: The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday, January 2, slammed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his note to jailed activist Umar Khalid, alleging that he insulted the Quran by coming out in defence of “criminals who talk about dividing India.”
VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal also flayed the US lawmakers who have written to Vinay Kwatra, the Indian Ambassador to the US, urging that Khalid be granted bail.
He claimed that they come out in support of the “criminals” in India but “keep mum” when Hindus and their temples are attacked in the US.
The lawmakers have also maintained silence over atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh, he charged.
Mamdani has written a note for Khalid, recalling the activist’s words on “bitterness” and the importance of not letting it consume one’s self.
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.
Meanwhile, the US lawmakers who have written to Kwatra have urged that Khalid be granted bail and a “fair, timely trial in accordance with international law”.
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.
The UAPA makes it more difficult to obtain bail, and the onus is on the accused to show that the case is false.
Reacting sharply, 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 to 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 Quran, is insulting it. This is not right,” Bansal said and asked Mamdani to “introspect”.
