New York Metropolis Mayor Zohran Mamdani. File.
| Photograph Credit score: Reuters
New York Metropolis Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) mentioned he doesn’t help the deliberate occasion at Madison Sq. Backyard the place Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will deal with members of the Indian diaspora.
Nevertheless, he mentioned the town might not have jurisdiction to cancel the “non-public” occasion, which is scheduled for August 29.
Mr. Bhagwat arrived within the U.S. earlier within the day as a part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) centenary-year world outreach programme. Throughout his keep in New York, he would take part within the Common Oneness programme and deal with a gathering of round 5,000 individuals on the iconic Madison Sq. Backyard (MSG) on Saturday (August 29, 2026).
“I do not help the rally, however I do not know if the town has any jurisdiction on cancelling a non-public occasion,” Mr. Mamdani mentioned at a information convention in New York.
The Indian-origin mayor was responding to a query on RSS, the deliberate occasion at MSG and the protests towards the occasion.
He was requested whether or not the “rally” at MSG must be cancelled.
“I additionally stand right here as the primary Indian-American Mayor in our metropolis’s historical past, and my mom’s household is all nonetheless in India,” Mr. Mamdani mentioned.
He mentioned the imaginative and prescient of India that he was taught by his household and the one which he grew up being very conversant in was that of “a pluralistic society, of a secular republic that believed within the belonging of each one who was from India”.
“And it has been extremely troubling to see the rise of a motion that’s predicated on an exclusionary imaginative and prescient of any nation, frankly, and so it’s one which I discover myself in deep opposition to, not solely as an Indian-American but additionally because the Mayor of a metropolis that believes deeply within the belonging of each particular person, irrespective of their color, their creed, their faith, their religion, wherever they’re from,” Mr. Mamdani mentioned.
A number of interfaith and civil rights organisations held a press convention exterior New York Metropolis Corridor, the seat of the town authorities, opposing Mr. Bhagwat’s look at MSG and urged the enduring venue to cancel the occasion.
The organisations included Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council and Interfaith Centre of New York, amongst others.
The Common Oneness Celebration, organised by AHEAD Discussion board, which is internet hosting Mr. Bhagwat, mentioned in a social media submit that the RSS chief will attend the Common Oneness Celebration in New York on August 29.
“The occasion carries a timeless and common message: ‘The world is one household’. It calls upon us to look past synthetic divisions and variations, recognise the bonds that unite humanity, and embrace a spirit of mutual respect, concord, and oneness,” the submit mentioned.
Mr. Bhagwat is visiting the U.S., Canada and the U.Ok. as a part of the Sangh’s centenary-year world outreach programme.
Printed – August 26, 2026 12:48 am IST
