New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently celebrated a Hindu festival at a community center in New York, while nearby a rally for the far-right Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was held at Madison Square Garden, sparking protests. The event featured remarks from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who has made controversial statements about Muslims and other minority groups in India. In response to the rally, nearly 100 US politicians have pledged to reject donations from the RSS. This includes several prominent figures such as Reps. Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrated the Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan by visiting a community center for South Asian seniors on Friday, but the next day, Mohan Bhagwat, leader of the far-right Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), spoke at a rally at Madison Square Garden. The rally, called the "Universal Oneness Celebration", was meant to promote shared humanity and mutual respect, but Bhagwat's past comments, including declaring all Indians, even Muslims, to be Hindu, suggesting gang rape is a Western import, and accusing Muslim men of carrying out "love jihad", have sparked controversy. The rally attracted large protests outside, and in response, several US politicians have rejected donations from the RSS.
Written for “U.S. Politicians Reject RSS Donations” on 2026-09-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.35, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 4347: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-09-05
Zeteo
· 44 article(s)
· 0 correction(s) detected
Commentary. The three signals behind a trust
score all measure a newsroom's record with its own reporting, so they
are not computed for this source.
How trust is scored.
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful
reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.
On Friday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrated Raksha Bandhan, a traditionally Hindu festival that honors the bond between brothers and sisters, by visiting India Home, a community center for South Asian seniors.
asserted
that → celebrate → seniors
The next day in New York, a leader of a far-right, Nazi-inspired Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization delivered remarks at Madison Square Garden.
asserted
leader → inspire → Garden
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat spoke Saturday at a rally in New York City, called the “Universal Oneness Celebration,” an event ostensibly about shared humanity and mutual respect.
asserted
Bhagwat → speak → humanity
“If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu,” a moderate-sounding Bhagwat said (“Bharat” is another name for India).
asserted
Bharat → think → India
“If you call yourself Hindu, you must believe all paths are leading to the same goal.”
asserted
paths → call → goal
However, in the past, Bhagwat has attracted controversy by declaring “everyone born in” India to be a Hindu, “even Muslims”; suggesting gang rape in India is a Western import; and accusing Muslim men of carrying out “love jihad” by courting Hindu women.
asserted
rape → attract → women
Hence, the RSS rally at Madison Square Garden on Saturday attracted large protests outside.
asserted
rally → attract → protests
While several organizations tried and failed to stop the rally from taking place, in protest of Bhagwat’s controversial political movement, the opposition continues.
asserted
opposition → try → movement
Nearly 100 political officials across the United States – from Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and his former opponent Haley Stevens, to top Indian-American Reps. Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal – have now pledged to reject money from the RSS.
asserted
officials → pledge → RSS
