X Suspends Account of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Event Organiser; US Congress Body Demands Visa Revocation
Just days ahead of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s scheduled address to the Indian diaspora in New York, X has suspended the account of American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue (AHEAD Forum). The event is scheduled for August 29 at the Infosys Theatre inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. The suspension comes shortly after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly denounced the RSS and said he did not support the planned event, though he added that the city administration had no jurisdiction to cancel it.
X has not publicly disclosed the reason for the suspension. AHEAD believes the suspension may have occurred in error, maintaining that its communications have consistently promoted universal peace, oneness, harmony, and constructive interfaith and intercultural dialogue in line with X’s policies. The organisation has appealed to X for the reinstatement of its suspended account.
US Religious Panel Demands Revocation of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Visa
A US Congress-constituted advisory body on religious freedom has urged the Trump administration to revoke the visa issued to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who is currently in New York. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has expressed concern over Bhagwat’s visit, alleging that RSS subgroups have carried out “violent attacks against religious minorities.”
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In a statement, USCIRF said, “The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is deeply concerned about the visit of Mohan Bhagwat, chief of India’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), to the United States.” USCIRF Chair Asif Mahmood said the organisation has urged the US government to consider “targeted sanctions” against those complicit in religious freedom violations, including revoking the visa issued to Bhagwat. The group also accused the government of engaging in acts of transnational repression to “target religious minorities beyond its borders.”
India has rejected the body’s claims, with the Ministry of External Affairs stating that USCIRF was biased and lacked credibility.