"There is opposition to RSS, VHP all over country": Congress leader backs NYC Mayor Mamdani over Bhagwat event

Congress leader Abhishek Dutt on Wednesday supported New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's opposition to an event of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, claiming that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) face opposition across the country and alleging misappropriation of donations collected in Ayodhya in the name of Lord Ram.

Congress leader Abhishek Dutt on Wednesday supported New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's opposition to an event of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, claiming that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) face opposition across the country and alleging misappropriation of donations collected in Ayodhya in the name of Lord Ram. Speaking to ANI, Dutt said, "There is opposition to the RSS and the VHP all over the country. Recently I was in Ayodhya and saw the way the RSS people collected donations and stole the donations in the name of Shri Ram... They stole from the faith of the people, so there is bound to be opposition."

Reacting to the row, Congress MP Imran Masood in Delhi questioned the purpose of the event. "What do they intend to achieve with this event? What message are they trying to convey to the world? They have ruined the country's youth," he told ANI.

The remarks came after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that he does not support the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) upcoming event in the city, though he admitted that he was uncertain whether the municipal administration had any jurisdiction to cancel a privately organised gathering. "I don't support the rally, but I don't know if the city has any jurisdiction over cancelling a private event," Mamdani said during a press conference.

During the press conference, Mamdani also spoke about his Indian-American background and his understanding of India. "I also stand here as the first Indian American mayor in our city's history. My mother's family is all still in India. The vision of India that I was taught by my family, and the one that I grew up being very familiar with, was of a pluralistic society -- a secular republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person who was from India," Mamdani said.

He added, "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." Mamdani's comments came as RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat landed in New York on Tuesday (local time), the first stop on a three-nation outreach tour covering the US, Canada and the UK. Bhagwat, who was received with a traditional tilak on arrival, is scheduled to address the Indian diaspora at the "Universal Oneness Celebrations" at Madison Square Garden on 29 August --an event tied to the RSS's centenary year and timed around Raksha Bandhan. (ANI)