Mahatma Gandhi’s Statue In Washington DC Defaced, Draped With 'Khalistani' Flag By ISI Proxies In Protest Against Farm Laws
WASHINGTON DC: The statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Washington DC’s Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Plaza in front of the Indian embassy was defaced by Khalistani elements on Saturday, December 12 in protest against the farm laws passed by the Centre.
Posters and banners were propped up against the statue and a yellow flag was
sighted draped over it. People were seen waving 'Khalistani' flags and raising
pro-Khalistan slogans at the spot.
Officials of the Indian embassy said it has lodged a strong protest with US
law enforcement agencies and has also taken up the matter with the US
Department of State for an early investigation and action against the culprits
under the applicable law.
#WATCH | Washington DC: Khalistan flag draped over Mahatma Gandhi statue near the Indian embassy. Protesters were demonstrating against the Farm bills. pic.twitter.com/8G9ngHyAeZ
— ANI (@ANI) December 12, 2020
"The Embassy strongly condemns this mischievous act by hooligans masquerading
as protesters against the universally respected icon of peace and justice,"
officials said.
Anti-Farm Law Supporters Say Protest "Peaceful, Non-Violent"
Speaking to reporters, one of the organisers of the anti-farm laws protests,
Mansimran Singh said: “Every person has a right for self-determination… It
doesn’t matter that you are supporting the farmers with whatever two cents you
have.”
On the question of Khalistan movement, he said, "If people in India in Punjab
are raising a voice for secession, why is the government not asking them
why... Sikhs have never harmed anybody ever in the history of the world, so we
can't be called terrorists by any definition of that word."
"All over the country here in America, confederate statues were vandalised and
then taken down. The people rose and said something that they discredit this
kind of proportion of previous figures who were rapists, slave owners or
people who were complacent to the same," he replied when asked why Gandhi's
statue was vandalised.
#WATCH | US: One of the organisers of the anti-farm laws protest at Washington DC, where Mahatma Gandhi’s statue was vandalised, replies to questions on the presence of pro-Khalistani elements at the protest & vandalism of the statue. pic.twitter.com/UMieXBuFXb
— ANI (@ANI) December 12, 2020
Another protester, Manmeet Singh, an activist, said that the protest held in
front of the Embassy was "peaceful and non-violent".
"We have been working on this issue for 14 years. I have personally witnessed
the agrarian crisis like in Punjab and Maharashtra. Our protest was definitely
a peaceful, non-violent protest," he said.
On the Khalistan flags being spotted during the protest, he said, "The
organisers will raise the Khalistan issue on another platform on another day.
We want the media to concern on the farmers' issue. This is not a regional
issue."
Earlier on June 3 during the George Floyd protests too, the Mahatma's statue
was vandalised by unknown persons. Post the desecration, an expert was called
in to refurbish the statue.
The statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled by then prime minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee on September 16, 2000, in the presence of then US president Bill
Clinton.
Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been
protesting for the last 17 days at the borders of Delhi against the three
newly enacted agricultural laws.
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