Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander was confronted by protesters outside Madison Square Garden on Saturday as an Indian Hindu nationalist leader, recently criticized by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, addressed a large audience inside the venue.
Lander appeared to arrive in support of demonstrators opposing Mohan Bhagwat, the head of the controversial Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS. But video from the scene showed the former city comptroller being met with hostility, including antisemitic abuse, before he was moved away over safety concerns.
The incident suggested Lander expected common ground with activists protesting the RSS. Instead, one agitated demonstrator shouted profanities and anti-Zionist insults directly at him, making clear that his presence was not welcomed by some in the crowd.
Lander pushed back during the tense exchange, at one point telling the protester, “Bring it on.” Other demonstrators later shouted for him to leave, saying they did not want “Zionists” aligned with their cause.
Lander, who is Jewish and is running as the Democratic nominee for New York’s 10th Congressional District, has been openly critical of Israel’s government while also identifying himself as a “liberal Zionist.”
The protest outside Madison Square Garden drew opponents of Bhagwat and the RSS, who demanded that the event be canceled over concerns about the group’s treatment of religious minorities, particularly Muslims. Inside, Bhagwat spoke to roughly 5,000 attendees from Indian American organizations.
Mamdani had earlier voiced opposition to the gathering, arguing that RSS ideology promotes exclusion and conflicts with New York City’s pluralistic values. He also acknowledged, however, that city officials had no authority to shut down a private event at the venue.
“It’s been incredibly troubling to see the rise of a movement that is predicated on an exclusionary vision of any country,” Mamdani said during a press conference Tuesday.
“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.”
Mamdani — who was born in Uganda to Indian parents — said his opposition to the Hindu Nationalist leaders was influenced partly by his family background but also as the mayor of a diverse city.
Signs outside the arena declared that “Modi’s India beats, rapes, lynches Christians, Dalits, Muslims & Sikhs,” while the controversial event’s website labeled the “Universal Oneness Celebration” bringing together the Hindu American community.
Peter Friedrich, 40, an independent journalist from California who has covered Hindu nationalism for over a decade, was at the protest and slammed Mamdani’s opposition to the RSS for being too weak.
“He should have actually named the RSS,” Friedrich told The Post. “I think that he mangled the moment to actually say something very strong.”
The US Commission of International Religious Freedom said the RSS, which is considered the ideological parent of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), “has been involved in acts of extreme violence and intolerance against members of minority groups for decades.”
But the RSS disputes any intolerance accusations and instead says it is a “Hindu centric civilisational, cultural movement,” whose goal is to “carry the nation to the pinnacle of glory,” including by uniting Hindus.
The Post reached out to Brad Lander, who did not immediately return a request for comment.
With Post wires
