Here in New York City, an interfaith coalition on Tuesday denounced the upcoming visit of a prominent Hindu nationalist leader from India at Madison Square Garden this Saturday. Mohan Bhagwat is the head of the RSS, a far-right paramilitary organization closely linked to India’s ruling BJP party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a member of the group, and Bhagwat’s rally in New York marks the beginning of a global speaking tour for the 100th anniversary of the RSS.
Earlier this year, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended the U.S. impose sanctions against the RSS for their responsibility for and tolerance of attacks on religious minorities, including Muslims and Christians. This is Brad Lander, the Democratic Party’s nominee for New York’s 10th Congressional district.

Brad Lander: “This event harkens back to that 1939 Nazi rally that was hosted at Madison Square Garden with banners of swastikas and tens of thousands of people cheering ethnic and religious hatred and violence of a very similar sort to what Mohan Bhagwat and the RSS are proposing. And MSG said it wouldn’t do that again, that it wouldn’t host any more hate-filled, bigoted rallies. It should not host this one.”