Mary Millben slams Zohran Mamdani over Mohan Bhagwat MSG event opposition

Mary Millben has hit out at New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for opposing Mohan Bhagwat's Madison Square Garden event. The clash has sharpened attention on protests, free speech limits and the organisers' message of universal oneness.Stock photo used for illustrationAmerican singer Mary Millben has criticised New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for opposing a planned event at Madison Square Garden later this week featuring RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. The event, scheduled for August 29, is expected to draw around 5,000 people and has also faced opposition from several interfaith and civil rights groups.Mamdani said on Tuesday that he does not support the event, but added that the city may not have jurisdiction to cancel a "private" programme like that. Responding on X, Millben attacked Mamdani’s stand and said the event would go ahead."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 her post on Tuesday. Bhagwat arrived in the US on Tuesday as part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s centenary-year global outreach programme.Criticising Mamdani’s remarks further, Millben said: "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." She added, "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." Millben, who has longstanding ties with the Republican Party, also voiced support for the August 29 event. "I like the rally title. 'Oneness'," she said, adding, "We are ONE family. I hope this rally includes meaningful dialogue on religious freedom in India."Several interfaith and civil rights organisations, including Hindus for Human Rights, the Indian American Muslim Council and the Interfaith Centre of New York, have opposed Bhagwat’s planned appearance at the venue and urged Madison Square Garden to cancel the event. Bhagwat is being hosted in the US by AHEAD Forum, a public policy and research trust, which is organising programmes under the banner of "Universal Oneness Celebration" and has said his visit carries a message that "The world is one family" and calls on people to look beyond "artificial divisions and differences". In sum, the Madison Square Garden event featuring Bhagwat is set to go ahead on August 29 despite protests, with Mamdani saying he does not support it and Millben strongly backing the programme and criticising its opponents.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 26, 2026 19:01 IST