Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], August 26 : Congress leader Nana Patole on Wednesday claimed that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has been designated as a "terrorist organisation" in the United States and questioned RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's visit to the country after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani opposed an upcoming RSS event at Madison Square Garden.
Patole also raised questions over the organisation's registration, funding and activities, saying the matter needed scrutiny.
Speaking on the issue, Patole said, "I have repeatedly stated that the organisation which is not registered in Maharashtra nor anywhere else in the country, that organisation is operating nationwide under the guise of NGOs. They hold bank accounts in 36 countries across the globe. There is no audit regarding the source of their funds or how they are utilised; indeed, they have already been designated as terrorist organizations in New York and across the United States. Yet, why did Mohan Bhagwat visit that place despite the opposition? This has become a matter of scrutiny..."
Congress MP Pawan Khera also reacted to the controversy, saying, "Let them deal with their own opposition. Mohan Bhagwat doesn't matter either. Let Mohan Bhagwat answer who ordered the use of pellet guns; we have no problem with that--we will accept the answer."
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey defended Bhagwat's visit and said opposition to him was unwarranted.
Dubey said, "The RSS is an organisation that holds the faith of millions of people...we, too, have maintained excellent relations with that organisation. If Mohan Bhagwat visits the US or any foreign land and faces opposition there, we feel such opposition is unwarranted. After all, when people from your countries visit ours, we never oppose them...whether it is Mamdani or anyone else, they must understand that opposing an individual from India is tantamount to challenging the nation itself..."
He added, "We maintain that while we may have countless political differences among ourselves, when it comes to the nation and a leader of ours visits another country, any attempt to insult them is an insult to us all. We have never engaged in such behaviour...we would expect Mamdani to extend the same courtesy and welcome guests as well."
The remarks came after Mamdani said he did not support the RSS's upcoming event in New York City, while acknowledging 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.