Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 07:25pm on 09 Jan 2026,Friday India Global
The Ministry of External Affairs responded to New York mayor Zohran Mamdani's handwritten note to Umar Khalid, stating "expressing personal prejudices do not behove those in office." MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said public representatives should respect judiciary independence in other democracies rather than making such comments. Mamdani's note, shared by Khalid's partner Banojyotsna Lahiri, expressed solidarity after the Supreme Court denied bail to Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. The court found both had "central," "formative," and "strategic" roles in the alleged conspiracy, placing them on a "qualitatively different footing" from five co-accused who were granted bail, including Gulfisha Fatima and Meeran Haider.
