London: A search is on for a suitable sculptor after the Leicester City Council gave its approval to install a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the multicultural city, ending months of contentious campaign and debate over the merits of the issue. The council planning committee met last evening and after a presentation by officials on all aspects of the issue, the approval was given.

There was no debate at the meeting on the merits of having Gandhi's statue, a council spokesperson told PTI. She added that as per rules, the statue will need to be installed within three years of the approval. The 3.8 metre statue is to be located off Belgrave Road, the nerve-centre of commercial and cultural activities of people of Gujarat origin.

Leicester has a high British Asian population, and is predicted to be Britain's first white-minority city in 12 years. Leicester has a large minority of Gujarat origin, many of whom moved here after the expulsions in Uganda in the early 1970s. For several months, Gandhi was pitted against local heroes such as footballer Gary Lineker and DNA inventor Sir Alec Jeffreys, and supporters and opponents of Gandhi's statue debated its merits.

Several online and public petitions were signed, while the campaign also reached the House of Commons in the form of an early day motion. However, the council spokesperson said the planning committee meeting did not debate the issue of whose statue should be installed, but only decided on the planning application made by the community group.

Source : PTI