A handwritten note from Zohran Mamdani to imprisoned scholar Umar Khalid expressed empathy and solidarity, focusing on Khalid's resilience against bitterness. In contrast, a Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson strongly criticized Mamdani's message, framing it as an unacceptable foreign interference in India's internal affairs and judiciary. The spokesperson asserted that any questioning of India's democracy or judiciary, especially in support of someone accused of seeking to break India apart, would not be tolerated by its citizens.