Hundreds of people protested outside Madison Square Garden in New York over an event involving Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat. Demonstrators called for Bhagwat’s visa to be cancelled and for the RSS to face a ban. The protest was organized by the Indian American Muslim Council and other religious and civil rights groups.

Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and City Council member Julie Won joined the demonstration. They criticized the staging of the event, citing the RSS’s Hindutva ideology and allegations of violence against religious minorities. The organizers said 65 US civic and interfaith organizations opposed the event.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom had earlier recommended cancelling Bhagwat’s visa and imposing targeted sanctions on the RSS. It cited allegations of violence against Muslims, Christians, Dalits and Sikhs. More than 1,000 people also urged US Secretary of State Marco Rubio not to permit Bhagwat to enter the United States, according to the IAMC. Founded in 1925, the RSS is described as a Hindu nationalist organization and an ideological foundation of India’s Hindutva movement.