The Bharatiya Janata Party intensified its criticism of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by connecting his 2024 meeting with US lawmakers Janice Schakowsky and Ilhan Omar to a recent letter from eight American legislators urging the Indian government to grant bail and a fair trial to Umar Khalid, an accused in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari shared a photograph of Gandhi with Schakowsky and Omar on social media, alleging a pattern where anti-India narratives abroad consistently involve Gandhi, claiming such forces aim to weaken India's government and dilute its anti-terror laws.

Bhandari outlined a timeline in his post: Gandhi's 2024 US meeting with the lawmakers, Schakowsky's reintroduction of the Combating International Islamophobia Act in January 2025—which references alleged crackdowns on Muslim communities in India—and her signing of the December 30, 2025, letter raising concerns over Khalid's five-year detention without trial.

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The letter, signed by Democrats including Jim McGovern, Jamie Raskin, Pramila Jayapal, Rashida Tlaib, and others, questioned the evidence against Khalid, cited human rights reports finding no links to terrorism, and invoked India's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for a timely trial or release.

This development coincided with a supportive handwritten note from newly inaugurated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to Khalid, expressing solidarity after meeting his parents in December 2025, while Khalid's regular bail plea remains pending before the Supreme Court following arguments concluded late last year, amid ongoing judicial scrutiny of the prolonged pre-trial detention.

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