Zohran Mamdani’s jibe at PM Modi
Mamdani, who visited several Hindu temples in Queens for the Festival of Lights, said that PM Modi and his political party, BJP, are rather leading India with a vision that the country “only has room for certain kinds of Indians.”
“So, I have been critical of Mr Modi because of the vision that I grew up with was of an India that was pluralistic, an India where everyone belonged, no matter their religion. And my critique has been of Mr Modi and the BJP political party for their vision of an India that only has room for certain kinds of Indians, and it’s part of a belief that pluralism is something to be celebrated, something to be strived for,” Mamdani said while addressing the Hindu American community.
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The mayoral candidate made an effort to connect with those who disagreed with his views on the prime minister, assuring them that he would treat everyone with equal respect — a value he said was instilled in him while “growing up in a pluralistic society.”
“And I also know that I’m running to be the mayor of New York City – eight and a half million people – many of whom may feel differently than me about Mr Modi, and that’s their right, and I will look to represent them all the same, because my responsibility to them as New Yorkers is to ensure that they are safe, to ensure they can afford this city and to ensure they are not just protected but are celebrated in that city,” he said.
Zohran Mamdani’s previous attacks on Modi
This, however, is not the first time that Mamdani has called out PM Modi. After Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic mayoral primary earlier this year, an old video had resurfaced in which he attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the 2002 Gujarat riots. In the footage, Mamdani alleged that Muslims were eradicated from Gujarat, stating that “people don’t even believe we exist anymore,” referencing the scale of violence and its aftermath.ALSO READ: Is Earth’s second moon dangerous? The strange and mysterious case of 2025 PN7 explained
At a candidates’ forum in the run-up to the mayoral election, Mamdani responded to a question about appearing alongside Modi during a New York visit by drawing a parallel between Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, labelling both as “war criminal.”
A 33-year-old New York state assemblyman and self-declared socialist, Mamdani remains the front-runner in the polls ahead of the November 4 election to decide who the next mayor of America’s most populous city would be. With just two weeks left until the New York mayoral election, Mamdani is ramping up his campaign efforts, reaching out to voters across every community in the city — including its sizable Indian American population, the largest in the nation.
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Zohran Mamdani holds double digit lead
Mamdani, who proudly boasts of his Indian roots, continues to hold a double-digit lead in the race, but his advantage over Andrew M. Cuomo tightens considerably when Republican Curtis Sliwa is excluded from the contest, according to a new poll. A new poll from AARP and Gotham Polling indicates that Democrat Zohran Mamdani maintains a lead in the New York City mayoral race with 43.2%, according to TOI.