“I don’t support the rally, but I don’t know if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event,” Mamdani said at a news conference when asked whether the event should be cancelled. NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has made clear that he opposes RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s event but has stopped short of calling for direct intervention, citing uncertainty over whether municipal authorities have jurisdiction over the privately organised gathering. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday (August 25) said he does not support a planned event featuring Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat at Madison Square Garden on August 29, while acknowledging that the city may not have the authority to cancel a privately organised gathering. Bhagwat arrived in the United States earlier on Tuesday (August 25) as part of the RSS’s centenary-year global outreach programme. During his visit to New York, he is scheduled to participate in the Universal Oneness Celebration and address around 5,000 members of the Indian diaspora at Madison Square Garden.
“I don’t support the rally, but I don’t know if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event,” Mamdani said at a news conference when asked whether the event should be cancelled. Mamdani cites his Indian heritage Mamdani, New York City’s first Indian-American mayor, said his opposition was also informed by his family’s connection to India.
“I also stand here as the first Indian-American Mayor in our city’s history, and my mother’s family is all still in India,” he said. Mamdani said he was raised with a vision of India as “a pluralistic society” and “a secular republic” where everyone belongs regardless of their background. He said he found the rise of what he described as an “exclusionary vision” deeply troubling. “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 colour, their creed, their religion, their faith, wherever they’re from,” Mamdani said. Rights groups oppose Bhagwat event Mamdani’s comments came as several interfaith and civil rights organisations gathered outside New York City Hall to protest Bhagwat’s scheduled appearance. The groups included Hindus for Human Rights, the Indian American Muslim Council and the Interfaith Centre of New York. They called for Madison Square Garden to cancel the event.
The opposition comes amid criticism from groups that have accused the RSS of promoting an exclusionary vision of Indian nationalism. Organisers defend ‘Universal Oneness’ event The event’s organisers, AHEAD Forum, have described the gathering as the Universal Oneness Celebration and said it will promote unity and harmony. “The world is one family,” the organisation said in a social media post announcing Bhagwat’s participation. According to the organisers, the event is intended to encourage people to look beyond divisions, recognise common bonds and promote “mutual respect, harmony, and oneness.”
Bhagwat’s US visit Bhagwat’s New York appearance is part of a wider international outreach programme marking the RSS’s centenary. He is scheduled to travel across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom during the tour. The planned Madison Square Garden event has nevertheless emerged as a flashpoint, with supporters describing it as a celebration of unity while opponents are calling for the venue to cancel Bhagwat’s appearance. Stay updated with the latest Trending, India, World and US news.
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Home News IndiaMamdani is against RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Madison Square Garden event — Here’s what he said
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