US singer and actress Mary Millben has slammed critics, especially New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, for opposing an upcoming event at the iconic Madison Square Garden (MSG), featuring Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat. The African-American singer accused Bhagwat’s opponents of being driven purely by hostility toward Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
RSS is the ideological parent of the ruling BJP.
“Mamdani and all these socialist nuts are opposing the Madison Square Garden (MSG) event featuring Mohan Bhagwat because they oppose PM Narendra Modi and the BJP,” Millben wrote in a post on X.
Opposing the political ideology of Bhagwat’s opponents, she wrote, “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 added.
The 41-year-old singer, who sang India’s national anthem at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington before PM Modi’s address there in 2023, offered “advice” to the New York mayor and “choir of socialists” to “become capitalists, raise money, rent MSG, and host your own rally for all your anti-Modi foolishness.
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. That’s pretty clear. Given these nuts subscribe to the ideology of socialism, they don’t understand capitalism.… pic.twitter.com/RFIK4HKoDW
— Mary Millben (@MaryMillben) August 26, 2026
“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 added.
A prominent African-American Hollywood actress and singer, Mary Millben is highly popular in India for her singing of the National Anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and ‘Om Jai Jagdiseh Hare.’
The RSS Event in New York
RSS chief Bhagwat is scheduled to speak at a Manhattan event on Saturday, according to the event’s website. The event’s website casts the August 29 gathering as the “Universal Oneness Celebration” bringing together the Hindu American community.
The organisers, American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue, said the event is backed by several Hindu American groups and promotes shared heritage and interfaith unity.
Criticism of the Event
Many local organisations have criticised the event’s organisers over Bhagwat’s attendance and the RSS’ history. Mamdani was one of the critics, who said he did not support the upcoming event.
“I don’t support the rally, but I don’t know if the city has any jurisdiction on cancelling a private event,” Mamdani, who is the first Muslim and Indian American mayor of New York City, said when asked if the event should be cancelled.
“The vision of India that I was taught by my family and one that I grew up being very familiar with was of a pluralistic society of a secular republic that believed in the belonging of each and every person who was from India. And it has been incredibly troubling to see the rise of a movement that is predicated on an exclusionary vision.”
