‘Become capitalists, raise money’: Singer’s ‘advice’ to Zohran Mamdani amid Bhagwat US event row | India News
US singer Mary Millben, who performed India’s national anthem during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the United States in June 2023, on Tuesday (local time) criticised New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani over his opposition to an upcoming event by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in the city.Mamdani has been critical of India’s ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The RSS is the BJP’s ideological mentor.Taking to X, Millben said the mayor and other “socialist nuts” oppose Bhagwat’s programme solely because of their opposition to PM Modi and the BJP.“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,” she wrote.She further challenged Mamdani and his “choir of socialists” to rent the iconic Madison Square Garden (MSG), where Bhagwat’s event is scheduled to be held, and organise their own rally for their “anti-Modi foolishness.”The US singer also expressed support for the central theme of the event while calling for constructive dialogue: “Side note, I like the rally title. ‘Oneness’. We are ONE family. I hope this rally includes meaningful dialogue on religious freedom in India,” she noted.Millben’s comments came after Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim and Indian-American mayor, said on Tuesday that he does not support the planned August 29 event at Madison Square Garden, where Bhagwat is scheduled to address members of the Indian diaspora. He, however, noted that city authorities may not have the legal authority to stop the event, describing it as a “private gathering.”“I don’t support the rally, but I don’t know if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event,” Mamdani said at a press conference when asked whether municipal authorities should move to cancel it.He added: “My mother’s family is all still in India… And 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.
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”Bhagwat’s New York visit is the first leg of a three-nation global outreach tour covering the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The tour has been organised at the invitation of overseas local groups as part of the RSS’s centenary celebrations.
