An event Saturday in New York City, featuring the head of a Hindu nationalist group instrumental in putting India’s ruling party in power, is being met with protests, a denunciation from the city’s mayor and a call for sanctions from a U.S. panel on religious freedom.

Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, widely considered the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is scheduled to address about 5,000 members of Indian American groups in the Infosys Theater, located in Madison Square Garden. Titled “Universal Oneness Celebration,” the event is being organized by American Hindus for Engagement and Dialogue.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been a polarizing figure in that country and the diaspora, emerged from the group known as RSS, a right-wing paramilitary group founded a century ago. Critics have accused the group of promoting the political ideology of Hindutva, which means “the essence of being Hindu,” and seeks to define Indian culture and national identity in terms of Hindu values.

The party and its branches have also been accused of fostering a culture of intolerance and committing human rights violations such as mob lynchings, targeting minority places of worship and razing Muslim-owned properties with bulldozers.

This week, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly declared his opposition to the event, labeling RSS ideology as exclusionary and contrary to the pluralistic views of the city.

The event’s organizers did not respond to The Associated Press’ interview requests.