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Ahead of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) rally in New York, Maharashtra Congress MLA Nana Patole on Wednesday flagged that neither organisation was registered as an NGO nor were there audits of its funds.
Speaking to ANI, Nana Patole also asked why RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat went to the US, despite certain sections opposing the Sangh there. The Congress leader said, "The organisation which is not registered in Maharashtra or anywhere across the nation is working as an NGO. They have bank accounts in 36 countries. There is no audit of where the funds come from and where the money is spent. US has declared it a terrorist organisation. It is a matter to study why Mohan Bhagwat went there despite opposition." 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 August 29, an event tied to the Sangh's centenary year and timed around Raksha Bandhan. Earlier, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he does not support the RSS' upcoming event in the city, though he admitted 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. "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," he added. In March, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)'s annual report criticised India and RSS over alleged religious freedom violations and backed targeted sanctions against individuals and entities. India had strongly rejected the report, describing it as a "distorted and selective" portrayal of the country based on what it called "questionable sources and ideological narratives". (ANI)
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