NYC Mayor Mamdani opposes RSS chief Bhagwat’s Madison Square event

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday (August 25, 2026) said he does not support the planned event at Madison Square Garden where Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will address members of the Indian diaspora.

However, he said the city may not have jurisdiction to cancel the “private” event, which is scheduled for August 29.

Mr. Bhagwat arrived in the U.S. earlier in the day as part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) centenary-year global outreach programme. During his stay in New York, he would participate in the Universal Oneness programme and address a gathering of around 5,000 people at the iconic Madison Square Garden (MSG) on Saturday (August 29, 2026).

“I don’t support the rally, but I don’t know if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event,” Mr. Mamdani said at a news conference in New York.

The Indian-origin mayor was responding to a question on RSS, the planned event at MSG and the protests against the event.

He was asked whether the “rally” at MSG should be cancelled.

“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,” Mr. Mamdani said.

He said the vision of India that he was taught by his family and the one that he grew up being very familiar with 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, and so 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,” Mr. Mamdani said.

Several interfaith and civil rights organisations held a press conference outside New York City Hall, the seat of the city government, opposing Mr. Bhagwat’s appearance at MSG and urged the iconic venue to cancel the event.

The organisations included Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council and Interfaith Centre of New York, among others.

The Universal Oneness Celebration, organised by AHEAD Forum, which is hosting Mr. Bhagwat, said in a social media post that the RSS chief will attend the Universal Oneness Celebration in New York on August 29.

“The event carries a timeless and universal message: ‘The world is one family’. It calls upon us to look beyond artificial divisions and differences, recognise the bonds that unite humanity, and embrace a spirit of mutual respect, harmony, and oneness,” the post said.

Mr. Bhagwat is visiting the U.S., Canada and the U.K. as part of the Sangh’s centenary-year global outreach programme.