Mamdani opposes Mohan Bhagwat event at Madison Square Garden

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said he does not support the planned event at Madison Square Garden featuring RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who is scheduled to address the Indian diaspora later this week.

Mamdani, however, noted that the city may not have jurisdiction to cancel the “private” event.

Bhagwat, who arrived in the US on Tuesday, is visiting the country as part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) centenary-year global outreach programme. His outreach tour also includes Canada and the UK.

In the US, he is scheduled to address a gathering of around 5,000 people at the iconic Madison



Square Garden (MSG) on August 29.

The planned appearance has drawn criticism from several civil rights organisations.

“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 press conference here on Tuesday, responding to a question on the RSS chief’s planned event and protests against it.

The Indian-origin mayor was asked whether the MSG event should be cancelled.

Mamdani, who described himself as the first Indian-American mayor in New York City’s (NYC) history, said his mother’s family is still in India.