New York: American singer Mary Millben has criticised New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for opposing the planned event at Madison Square Garden featuring RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat later this week.
“Mamdani and all these socialist nuts are opposing the Madison Square Garden (MSG) event featuring Mohan Bhagwat because they oppose PM @narendramodi and the @BJP4India,” Millben said in a post on X Tuesday.
Bhagwat, who arrived in the US on Tuesday as part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) centenary-year global outreach programme, is scheduled to address a gathering of around 5,000 people at the iconic MSG on August 29.
On Tuesday, when Mamdani was asked about protests against the event and whether it could be cancelled, he said he does not support it but noted that the city may not have jurisdiction to cancel a “private” event like that.
Criticising Mamdani’s remarks, Millben said in her post: “That’s pretty clear. Given these nuts subscribe to the ideology of socialism, they don’t understand capitalism. MSG doesn’t answer to socialist rants. They answer to capitalism.”
“And thus this event will go on because of it. My advice to Mamdani and his choir of socialists – become capitalists, raise money, rent MSG, and host your own rally for all your anti-Modi foolishness,” said the 44-year-old singer.
Millben, who has longstanding ties with the Republican Party, also voiced appreciation for the August 29 event, saying: “I like the rally title. ‘Oneness’.”
“We are ONE family. I hope this rally includes meaningful dialogue on religious freedom in India,” she added.
Several interfaith and civil rights organisations – which include Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council and Interfaith Centre of New York, among others – have opposed Bhagwat’s planned appearance at the MSG and urged the iconic venue to cancel the event.
AHEAD Forum, a public policy and research trust, is hosting Bhagwat in the US, with its planned programmes under the banner of “Universal Oneness Celebration”. It said in a social media post that the RSS chief’s visit “carries a timeless and universal message: The world is one family”, as it called upon people to look beyond “artificial divisions and differences”.
