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Gandhi statue: councillors to take decision soon

London: The campaign to install a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the east Midlands town of Leicester has reached its final stage, with the local councillors scheduled to take a last decision next week. After considerable public support, opposition and debate over the merits of having a statue, local council officers are expected to recommend to councillors that the statue should be approved.

The cost of the statue, £ 20,000, will be met by Samanvaya Parivar, a charity organisation that has been in the forefront of the move. Officers have reportedly recommended a condition of approval that the organisation paid maintenance costs for 10 years. The campaign to install a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Leicester, with a sizeable Gujarati minority, ran into trouble when some local groups opposed the move saying that the town should have the statue of the local football hero Gary Lineker. Lineker, however, supported the move to install the Gandhi statue. Campaign’s lead supporter, Goa-origin Labour MP from Leicester East, Keith Vaz and other MPs led an early day motion in the House of Commons to support the installation of the Gandhi statue. — PTI

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Gandhi statue: councillors to take decision soon

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