Revoke Bhagwat’s visa ahead of NY event

Washington: 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 in New York as part of a three-nation trip. In New York, Bhagwat would address the Universal Oneness Celebrations at the Infosys Theatre at Madison Square Garden on August 29.

The event is billed as an inter-faith gathering where the RSS chief will interact with a diverse, multi-cultural and multi-faith audience. “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,” the advisory body said in a statement.

The USCIRF alleged that members of RSS subgroups have “perpetrated violent attacks against religious minorities.” USCIRF Chair Asif Mahmood said that 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.