The Mahatma Gandhi statue in Washington was defaced and vandalized on Saturday (local time) by protesters supporting New Delhi farmers against the recently enacted farm laws in India.
Flags of ‘Khalistan’ were also sighted at the scene when protesters defaced the Bapu statue located in front of the Indian embassy in Washington.
Earlier this month in London, “Khalistani” flags were seen at a protest in front of the High Commission of India, where protesters raised anti-India and pro-farmers slogans.
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The Mahatma statue in Washington was vandalized earlier this year on June 3 during George Floyd’s protests by unknown persons. After the desecration, an expert was called in to restore the Gandhi statue.
The statue was vandalized with graffiti and spray paint, prompting the Indian mission to file a complaint with local law enforcement agencies. The desecrated statue of Gandhi, the design of which was created by Gautam Pal, was later covered up and the site cleaned up.
The Indian Embassy in the United States had registered cases with the Metropolitan Police and the National Park Police. The matter was immediately reported to the State Department and the Under Secretary of State had called the Indian ambassador to address the matter. Under Secretary of State Stephen Biegun has apologized for the incident. A month later, Biegun unveiled the reformed statue of Mahatma Gandhi along with the Indian envoy to the United States, Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
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The statue was dedicated by former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on September 16, 2000, during his state visit to the United States, in the presence of then-US President Bill Clinton.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been protesting for the past 17 days on the borders of Delhi against three agricultural laws.
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