'I Don't Support the Rally': New York Mayor Mamdani Opposes RSS Chief's MSG Event

New York: New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has spoken out against an upcoming Madison Square Garden appearance by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, even as he conceded the city government may not have the legal standing to block what he called a privately organised gathering.

Bhagwat touched down in the United States on Tuesday as part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's global outreach effort marking its centenary year. While in New York, he is scheduled to take part in the Universal Oneness programme and speak before an estimated crowd of 5,000 at Madison Square Garden on August 29.

At a press briefing, Mamdani stated plainly that he did not back the rally, though he was unsure whether city authorities had any legal basis to cancel a private function. Fielding questions on the RSS event and the backlash it has generated, Mamdani pointed to his position as the first Indian-American to serve as the city's mayor, noting that his mother's family continues to live in India.

He described the India he had come to know through his upbringing as a pluralistic, secular republic — one built on the idea that every person connected to the country belonged there. Mamdani said he viewed the growth of movements built around exclusionary definitions of nationhood as deeply concerning, adding that he stood firmly against such ideology, both as someone of Indian heritage and as mayor of a city that values inclusion regardless of race, faith or background.

Rights groups rally outside City Hall

A coalition of interfaith and civil rights organisations — including Hindus for Human Rights, the Indian American Muslim Council, and the Interfaith Center of New York — gathered outside New York City Hall to voice opposition to Bhagwat's planned appearance, calling on Madison Square Garden's management to scrap the event altogether.