00:00New York City Mayor Zohraan Mamdani opposes RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat's Madison Square event.
00:06So, Zohraan Mamdani said that he does not support the planned event at Madison Square Garden,
00:12where RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat will address the members of the Indian diaspora.
00:16However, he said that the city may not have jurisdiction to cancel the private event,
00:21which is scheduled for August 29th.
00:23Bhagwat arrived in the United States as part of the RSS Centenary Year Global Outreach Programme.
00:30During his stay in New York, he would participate in the Universal Oneness Programme
00:34and address a gathering of around 5,000 people at the iconic Madison Square Garden.
00:41And Zohraan Mamdani has said that he does not support the rally,
00:44but he's not sure if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event.
00:53And then, you know, I also stand here as the first Indian American mayor in our city's history.
00:59And my mother's family is all still in India.
01:03And the vision of India that I was taught by my family
01:09and the one that I grew up being very familiar with was of a pluralistic society,
01:15of a secular republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person who was from India.
01:21And it has been incredibly troubling to see the rise of a movement
01:27that is predicated on an exclusionary vision of any country, frankly.
01:32And so it is one that I find myself in deep opposition to,
01:36not only as an Indian American, but also as the mayor of a city that believes deeply
01:40in the belonging of each and every person,
01:42no matter their color, their creed, their religion, their faith, wherever they're from.
01:46Should the rally be cancelled, though, at MSG this weekend?
01:50I don't support the rally, but I don't know if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event.
01:56So New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani has said that he does not support the event of Mohan Bhagwat,
02:04the RSS chief at the Madison Square.
02:06But he has also said that he does not think that the city has any jurisdiction to cancel the private
02:13event.
02:13And he said that he believes in the oneness of the community
02:17and hence he does not support or back this event by the RSS chief.
02:22In fact, this is not the first time that a leader in the United States has opposed RSS chief Mohan
02:28Bhagwat's event.
02:29In fact, earlier, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom chair Asif Mahmood,
02:35who hails from Pakistan, and Commissioner Jean Mills opposed Bhagwat's visit,
02:42called for sanctions against the RSS,
02:44and also urged the U.S. government to withhold diplomatic curtsies or high-level meetings.
02:51So Mohan Bhagwat's event has in fact been slammed by several of the leaders in the United States,
02:56with Zoran Mamdani, the New York City Mayor, being the latest,
03:00who has said that he does not support the planned event at the Madison Square Garden,
03:07where RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will address the members of the Indian diaspora.
03:11But he also said that the city may not have the jurisdiction to cancel the private event,
03:17which is scheduled for August 29th.
03:19India Today Global's Pranay Padeh is now joining us with more details on this.
03:22Pranay, tell us more about the objection which has been raised by the New York City Mayor,
03:27Zoran Mamdani, against Mohan Bhagwat's event.
03:32Good morning, Anjali.
03:34The objection, Zoran Mamdani, the Mayor of New York City,
03:38might not be in the technical domain as far as the event related to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's visit
03:44to the United States or New York City,
03:46but rather in the domain of political objections.
03:50The objections of Zoran Mamdani's politics is quite different from the opinion and views of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
04:01And therefore, I think Zoran Mamdani said that he would not approve the event or upcoming event in the city
04:10of New York,
04:11but he also admitted that he does not have the administration or the administrative power to cancel whether it falls
04:19under his jurisdiction or not.
04:21And he said in as many words that he does not support the rally,
04:26but he doesn't know that whether the city has any jurisdiction over cancelling any private event
04:32because RSS chief would be going there and some individuals would be hosting him
04:37and they will be hosting this kind of a rally or an event or a gathering
04:41where RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat might be addressing a gathering.
04:47And, you know, Zoran Mamdani's politics is, you know, a center-left politics.
04:53And therefore, his views are quite open, the kind of campaign he led
04:59and the kind of things he said about India and the government in India.
05:05So, this is really a political opinion aired by Zoran Mamdani.
05:10Thank you, Pranay.
05:11And, you know, this is not the first time that Mohan Bhagwat has been slammed for his visit
05:16and for his event in the United States.
05:18Earlier, also, U.S. faith body, which is led by a Pakistan-origin man,
05:23had also slammed the visit.
05:24In fact, he had also called for sanctions against Mohan Bhagwat and the RSS.
05:31Obviously, there are many organizations, even USCRIF,
05:36the United States Commission for Cultural and Religious Freedom.
05:41That organization has also asked U.S. State Department, U.S. government
05:46to not let RSS. Chief Mohan Bhagwat visit the United States
05:51or put, you know, restriction on his visit.
05:55So, there are many opinions that are being aired,
05:57but that does not mean that, you know, that can be implemented
06:01or his visit can be restricted.
06:03As far as Trudy's position is concerned,
06:06RSS. Chief Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to visit the United States
06:09in the next few weeks.
06:11And the preparations are being done in the diaspora,
06:14the Indian community there is quite excited for his visit.
06:19And there are a large number of people,
06:21those who are ready to welcome him and to host him there.
06:25So, in any rival democracy,
06:28this is quite a common and a natural thing,
06:32that, you know, people with diverse opinions
06:35have their own shades of politics
06:38and they air their opinion.
06:40But as far as the legal position is concerned,
06:44there is no restriction
06:45or there is no revocation of visa issued to Mohan Bhagwat.
06:49All right. Pranay, thank you for those details.
06:52And for that context,
06:52New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani
06:54is the latest one to oppose the event
06:57of Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS chief in New York.
07:01But he also goes on to say
07:02that the city may not have the jurisdiction
07:04to cancel any private event.
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