India has taken up with Italian authorities the matter concerning the "vandalisation" of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi's statue by pro-Khalistani elements following reports in the media, the external affairs ministry said on Wednesday while noting that "a suitable rectification has taken place".
"We have seen the reports of that and we have taken it up with the Italian authorities. We understand that a suitable rectification has already taken place," foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said on Wednesday at a special briefing responding to questions.
This is not the first time that Mahatma Gandhi's statue was vandalised in a foreign country.
Last year, in a similar incident, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi was vandalised on the Burnaby campus of Simon Fraser University in Canada's British Columbia province in March.
This was the second such incident reported in Canada.
The first incident was reported near the City Hall in the town of Hamilton, in the province of Ontario.
A similar incident of vandalising of a Mahatma Gandhi statue was reported at Vishnu Mandir in the area of Yonge Street and Garden Avenue in Canada in July 2022, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported citing York Regional Police.
In January 2021, Mahatma Gandhi's statue was vandalised in Davis, California, US.
It was a gift to the City of Davis by the Government of India in 2016. -- ANI