Zohran Kwame Mamdani and Kangana Ranaut
Credit: Reuters and PTI photos
Indian-origin US politician Zohran Kwame Mamdani stunned in the Democratic primary race for New York City mayor, upsetting former governor Andrew Cuomo.
He is the son of Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani. Some of her movies include Mississippi Masala, Monsoon Wedding, and Salaam Bombay.
A day after his win, actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has taken a dig at Mamdani, questioning his "bloodline".
Ranaut re-shared a video on her official X account about Zohran "leading a mob of protestors".
"NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani once led a mob of protestors in Times Square calling Hindus as bastards and heaping abuses upon Lord Rama, who is worshipped by Hindus," the caption for the video read.
To this, Ranaut reacted questioning his "Hindu identity or bloodline" and wrote, "His mother is Mira Nair, one of our best filmmakers, Padmashri , a beloved and celebrated daughter born and raised in great Bharat based in Newyork, she married Mehmood Mamdani ( Gujarati origin) a celebrated author. (sic)"
She also said that the name Zohran "sounds more Pakistani than Indian" and he is "ready to wipe out Hinduism".
"Son is named Zohran, he sounds more Pakistani than Indian ….. whatever happened to his Hindu identity or bloodline and now he is ready to wipe out Hinduism, wow!! It’s the same story every where. On a different note met Mira ji on couple of occasions congratulations to the parents (sic)," Ranaut wrote.
MP Abhishek Singhvi said "Pakistan's PR takes the day off" when New York's mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks.
"When Zohran Mamdani opens his mouth, Pakistan’s PR team takes the day off. India doesn’t need enemies with ‘allies’ like him shouting fiction from New York," Singhvi, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP, said in a post on X.
Mamdani, a member of the New York State Assembly from Queens, was born in Uganda on October 18, 1991 and raised in New York City.
In an interview with Little Africa News, Mamdani mentioned his middle name Kwame was his fathers choice.
Kwame was added to his name after Ghanaian leader Kwame Nkrumah.
(With PTI inputs)