‘Incredibly troubling to see…’: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he opposes RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s event at Madison Square

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said while the city does not have the jurisdiction to cancel a ‘private’ event, he was not supportive of the Madison Square Garden event where  Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat will address the Indian diaspora.

At a news conference in New York, Mamdani was asked if he wanted to cancel the event. "I don’t support the rally, but I don’t know if the city has any jurisdiction over cancelling a private event,” he said.

Mamdani said the idea of India that he was familiar with is gradually changing and he deeply opposes it. "I also stand here as the first Indian American mayor in our city’s history. My mother’s family is all still in India. The vision of India that I was taught by my family, and the one that I grew up being very familiar with, was of a pluralistic society – a secular republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person who was from India,” he said.

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“It has been incredibly troubling to see the rise of a movement that is predicated on an exclusionary vision of any country, frankly. And so it is one that I find myself in deep opposition to – not only as an Indian American, but also as the mayor of a city that believes deeply in the belonging of each and every person, no matter their color, their creed, their religion, their faith, wherever they’re from."

Bhagwat arrived in the US as part of the RSS’ centenary-year global outreach programme. He would participate in the  Universal Oneness programme and address a gathering of around 5,000 people.

Meanwhile, several interfaith and civil rights organisations held a press conference outside New York City Hall to oppose Bhagwat's appearance at Madison Square Garden, and urging the venue to cancel the event. The organisations included Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council and Interfaith Centre of New York, among others.

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Bhagwat is visiting the US, Canada and the UK as part of the Sangh’s centenary-year global outreach programme.