However, the peaceful protest was quickly hijacked by the separatist Sikhs who had been carrying Khalistani flags with anti-India posters and banners which mentioned they represent “The Republic of Khalistan”.
During the protest, quite a few of the pro-Khalistan Sikh youths flashing Kirpans jumped on the statue of Mahatma Gandhi and pasted a poster more than it. The group was raising anti-India and pro-Khalistan slogans.
The Indian Embassy condemned the “mischievous act” by hooligans masquerading as protesters.
“The statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Plaza in front of the Embassy was defaced by Khalistani elements on 12 December 2020. The Embassy strongly condemns this mischievous act by hooligans masquerading as protesters against the universally respected icon of peace and justice,” it mentioned in a statement.
The Embassy mentioned it has lodged a powerful protest with the US law enforcement agencies and has also taken up the matter with the Department of State for an early investigation and action against the culprits below the applicable law.
The Washington DC Police and Secret Services had a sizeable presence when all this occurred Saturday afternoon.
Around half-an-hour later, a further group of pro-Khalistani supporters hung a dummy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image with a rope about the neck of the statue.
After more than an hour, a secret service agent was observed coming close to the statue and apparently telling the youths that they had been violating the law by indulging in vandalism.
On June 26, President Donald Trump had signed an executive order, according to which an person can be imprisoned for up to 10 years for destroying, damaging, vandalising, or desecrating a monument, memorial, or statue inside the United States or otherwise vandalises government house.
The statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled by then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the presence of then US president Bill Clinton on September 16, 2000, following the US Congress passed a law in this regard in 1998.
This is for the second time that Gandhi’s statue has been desecrated by miscreants. The very first such incident was reported on the intervening evening of June 2 and 3.
Farmers from various components of the nation, in particular Haryana and Punjab, have been camping at several border points of Delhi for more than two weeks to demand a repeal of the 3 farm laws.