British Minister welcomes decision to Gandhi statue in Parliament

London: Shailesh Vara, an Indian-origin British Minister for Justice, has welcomed UK government’s decision to install a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square here by early next year. British Foreign Minister William Hague and Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne, who are on a visit to India, on Tuesday announced plan for the statue of Gandhi, the inspiration for non-violent civil rights movements around the world.

“It is a fitting tribute that he should be honoured by having a statue in Parliament Square. Mahatma Gandhi was called to the Bar in London and Parliament Square would have been a familiar sight to him. I suspect the thought that there would one day be a statue of him in the Square never crossed his mind,” he said.