Mamdani slams RSS for ‘exclusionary vision’, opposes Bhagwat’s MSG rally
New York : New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he is in “deep opposition” to the planned event at Madison Square Garden where RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to address his Indian followers, but noted that the city government may not have jurisdiction to cancel the “private” event.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Mamdani made the remarks at a news conference on Tuesday while responding to questions on the RSS programme and protests against it.
“I don’t support the rally, but I don’t know if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event,” Mamdani said. The event is scheduled for August 29. Bhagwat arrived in the US earlier in the day as part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s centenary-year global outreach programme. During his stay in New York, he is scheduled to participate in the ‘Universal Oneness’ programme and address a gathering of around 5,000 people at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.
“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,” Mamdani said. He said the vision of India he was taught by his family was that of “a pluralistic society, of a secular republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person who was from India.”
“And it has been incredibly troubling to see the rise of a movement that is predicated on an exclusionary vision of any country, frankly,” Mamdani said. “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.”
Several interfaith and civil rights organisations, including Hindus for Human Rights, the Indian American Muslim Council and the Interfaith Centre of New York, held a press conference outside New York City Hall opposing Bhagwat’s appearance at MSG and urged the venue to cancel the event.
The ‘Universal Oneness Celebration’, organised by the AHEAD Forum which is hosting Bhagwat, said in a social media post that the RSS chief will attend the event in New York on August 29
