"New York is multi-religious, RSS theory will not work": TMC MP Saugata Roy on Mamdani's opposition to Bhagwat event
Aug 26, 2026
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], August 26 : Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy on Wednesday said New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's opposition to an upcoming event featuring Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat was understandable, asserting that NYC is a multi-religious city where the RSS's ideology would not work.
Speaking to reporters, Roy said, "New York is a multi-religious city, where RSS's theory will not work, and this is the reason they might oppose it."
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.
