New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's opposition to an upcoming event featuring RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at Madison Square Garden has attracted criticism from BJP leaders, who accused the mayor of making "baseless", "divisive" statements.
Bhagwat is scheduled to address members of the Indian diaspora at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Mamdani said on Tuesday that he did not support the event, even as he acknowledged that the city may not have the jurisdiction to cancel a private gathering.
Reacting to Mamdani's remarks, BJP MP Bhola Singh said those making such statements did not understand the RSS. "Those who do not know about the RSS or lack an understanding of it make such incorrect and baseless statements. The RSS has been continuously engaged in social service and nation-building for a very long time," Singh said, according to news agency ANI.
He added that the BJP may have come to power in 2014, but the RSS had been working for much longer. "No one has the right to question our commitment to social service," he said.
BJP leader Dr Syed Zafar Islam also hit out at Mamdani, pointing out that the mayor neither had the authority nor the ability to prevent Bhagwat's event from taking place.
"Neither Mamdani has the right nor can he stop the event from taking place. He has made such statements only to please one section of society and to remain in the news," Islam was quoted as saying.
He pointed to Mamdani's own acknowledgement that the matter was outside the city's jurisdiction and described the mayor's statement as "divisive".
BJP MP Yogender Chandolia too criticised Mamdani's remarks, saying the New York mayor had no connection with the RSS and had himself accepted that there were no rules under which the event could be cancelled.
"Mohan Bhagwat is a big leader of a social organisation," Chandolia said.
Mamdani had invoked his Indian heritage and his understanding of India as a pluralistic and secular country.
"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," Mamdani said.
He said the India he grew up knowing was "a pluralistic society, of a secular republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person who was from India".
Mamdani said he found himself in "deep opposition" to what he described as the rise of a movement based on an "exclusionary vision".
The controversy over Bhagwat's visit is not the first time Mamdani has attracted criticism from the BJP over his comments concerning India.
Earlier this year, BJP leaders accused the New York mayor of "interfering" in India's internal affairs after he wrote a note to jailed activist Umar Khalid.
"Dear Umar, I think of your words on bitterness often, and the importance of not letting it consume one's self. It was a pleasure to meet your parents," Mamdani wrote, adding, "We are all thinking of you."
The BJP then questioned Mamdani's locus standi to comment on India's internal matters and asserted that the country would not tolerate interference in issues concerning its sovereignty.
The party also said that the people of India had "complete faith" in the country's judiciary.
