Joe Biden's spokesperson condemns Gandhi statue desecration in California

US President Joe Bidens Press Secretary Jen Psaki has condemned the desecration of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in California and expressed concern over the incidentWe certainly would have concern about the desecration of monuments of Gandhi And you know thats certainly what we would express Psaki said on MondayBut certainly we would you know condemn that desecration and watch it closelyAsked by a reporter about Bidens thoughts on the attack she said If theres more to share on the Presidents point of view on it Im happy to get back to you on thatThe statue of Gandhi in Davis was cut down at its feet and the head was cut in half after it was toppled between the night of January 26 and January 27This is the second time that the statue was vandalisedObscene drawings were made on the base of the statue and crude insults were written in June 2020The Hindu American Foundation HAF has asked the Biden administration to investigate the latest incident as a hate crimeWe condemn this cowardly desecration and call upon the Department of Homeland Security and FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate this hate crime as it was likely done with the intention of intimidating the IndianAmerican community HAFs California Advocacy Director Easan Katir saidIn his election manifesto for IndianAmericans Biden had assured the community that he will appoint leaders at the Department of Justice who will prioritise the prosecution of hate crimesThe Presidents manifesto said that he will order his Justice Department to focus additional resources to combat hate crimes including religionbased hate crimes and to confront White nationalist terrorismWhile those behind the Davis desecration have not been identified the opposition to honouring Gandhi has not been coming from White nationalist groups but from othersDuring the height of the Black Lives Movement against police brutality last year the base of a statue of Gandhi in Washington was also defaced with personal insults against him and as well as IndiaThe protests backed by the Democratic Party included a radical left element made up of agitators of various races including White who destroyed property and vandalised monumentsTwo protests were held on Sunday at the site where the Gandhi statue had stood according to KCRA TV in Sacramento the capital of CaliforniaOne was against the statues desecration and demanding security for the statueThe other was by people who said they were glad the statue had been removed the TV station reportedThe news clip from the station showed people in the group carrying saffron flag with a Sikh religious symbol and a sign Ambedkar Hero of minoritiesA member of the group identified by KCRA TV as Nanak Bhatti said They are angry that the statue has been desecrated they should not have put the statue in the first place Why did they put it over here Does the city of Davis deserve this statue NoIn June 2020 a protest was held in Davis mostly by Sikhs but also included others demanding the statues removal the Davis Vanguard reportedDillan Horton an AfricanAmerican politician who ran unsuccessfully for the Davis City Council was also one of the speakers at the protest according to the VanguardThere have been antiGandhi memorial protests elsewhereIn Atlanta a protest was held in 2019 against the installation of a statue of Gandhi in the city and the establishment of a Fruit Forest donated by the Indian Friends of Atlanta whose volunteers were to plant the trees in commemoration of Gandhis 150th birth anniversaryAfricanAmerican Democratic Party politician Cheryle Renee Moses hosted the protest according 11 Alive WPXIA TV in AtlantaBhatti was also involved telling the TV station that he opposed the statue and the Fruit ForestA petition backed by the Sikh youth organization Jakara Movement with 5000 signatures had demanded the removal of Gandhis statue in the Peace Garden at Fresno State University in Fresno California last year according to the Fresno Bee newspaperThe nearly twometre tall bronze statue of Gandhi which was unveiled in Davis in 2016 had been donated by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations which also gave the city 22000 to install itDavis Deputy Chief Paul Doroshov told the Sacramento Bee newspaper that investigators were unsure of the motive behind the vandalismSeeing as its a cultural icon to a portion of the people in Davis we are taking it very seriously Doroshov told the newspaperIndiaspora a global organisation of Indians said Davis to immediately commence a thorough process to bring the perpetrators of this act to justice and reinstall a statue that pays homage to this apostle of peaceMahatma Gandhi like many iconic figures who are globally revered for their leadership in just and noble causes was not a perfect man But vandalising and desecrating his statue is surely unacceptable in America a nation that prides itself on the peaceful and democratic resolution of differences of opinionTwitter which censors postings with notices like The following media includes potentially sensitive content however freely allowed a tweet by the California Sikh Youth Alliance with pictures of the desecrated Gandhi statue