‘People have the right to destroy statues - but don’t make others victims of anger’ says Gandhi’s relative

THE great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi has said that people have the right to “destroy” statues if they are not “removed on demand”.

The statue of Gandhi in Leicester was referenced when Tushar Gandhi, who established the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation in India in 1998, was interviewed by journalist and presenter Anila Dhami.

It comes after a petition to remove the statue in Belgrave gained thousands of the signatures last week.

The petitioner branded Gandhi as a “racist and fascist”.

The full interview with Ms Dhami was hosted on Instagram as part of her In Conversation With... series.

It addressed some of the claims about Gandhi made by those against his statues and can be viewed on YouTube or Ms Dhami’s Instagram page.

Tushar said: “I think that people feel they have the right - if statues are not removed on their demand they have the right to destroy those statues.

CONTROVERSY: Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, right. Above, Keith Vaz and others make a symbolic protective ring around the statue

“I would say destroy all his statues - but don’t make others victims of your anger.”

His great-grandson also discusses the former Indian leader’s self-confessed mistakes, which are mentioned in his autobiography, and what he believes Gandhi would say about protests taking place across the country and worldwide today.

In response to the petition last week, former Labour MP for Leicester

East, Keith Vaz, helped form a human chain alongside Leicester councillors to symbolically protect the statue, after vowing to personally defend it.

Claudia Webbe, the Labour MP for Leicester East, said that despite believing that Gandhi was a positive figure, the petition was a “distraction” from the “crucial” Black Lives Matter movement.

It comes after statues across the

UK have come under scrutiny in light of protests.

A statue in Bristol of Edward Colston, a slave trader who contributed to the wealth that Bristol was built upon, was thrown into the harbour during a protest on June 5.

The petition to remove the Gandhi statue is now closed and the city council has said it will consider the petition as “part of a wider conversation about the context, relevance

and appropriateness of street names, statues and monuments in the city”.

In an online poll conducted by the Mercury, opinion was split.

In all, 2,919 people had their say, with 1,133 (39 per cent) agreeing with the petition about the Gandhi statue. However, 1,335 (46 per cent) - voted for it to be left alone. A further 451 (15 per cent) said they had no strong opinion.