Indian-origin New York politician Jenifer Rajkumar slammed Mira Nair’s son Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayoral candidate from the Socialist Party, for a recent statement against India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an open forum. At the forum, he was asked a hypothetical question that if Indian PM Narendra Modi holds a rally in Madison Square Garden and then wants to address a joint press conference with the mayor of New York, would he join that? Mamadani, who has a strong connection with India as both his parents — father Mahmood Mamdani and mother Mira Nair — were born in India, said he won’t join.Mamdani elaborated on his answer and said his father is a Gujarati Muslim, and then compared the Indian PM with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Jennifer Rajkumar strongly reacted to the statement and said such divisive language about foreign leaders should have no place in the New York mayoral poll when there are real issues. “At a time when New Yorkers are struggling with real issues—rising crime, a housing crisis, and growing hate—we cannot afford to be distracted by extreme, divisive language about foreign leaders,” Rajkumar said to New York Post. “Hinduism is a faith of peace, nonviolence, and interfaith harmony. Hindu voters want our leaders to build bridges—not burn them. We must reject hate—whether it comes from the far left or the far right. Our city deserves leaders who unite, not provoke—who build coalitions, not headlines,” Rajkumar said. Jaspreet Singh, a Sikh community leader and human rights lawyer, said to the NYP, “Hate has no place in our city. We believe in equality, love and respect for all. We believe all are children of the same God.“But Zohran has used his platform to amplify some of the worst anti-Hindu rhetoric imaginable. Words matter, and instead of uniting the Indian community, he seeks to divide us by religion, pitting Muslims and Hindus against each other. Associating Hindus with fascism and using derogatory words against them is highly objectionable.”A staunch critic of the BJP, Mamdani in 2020 led a mob of protesters in Times Square who called Hindus basta**ds.
