LONDON: Sikhs in UK have announced a massive campaign to oppose Britain’s plan to build a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at London ’s Parliament Square The Sikh Federation (UK) has written to Britain’s culture secretary Sajid Javid who is leading the project.Bhai Amrik Singh, chair of the Sikh Federation in his letter to Javid called Gandhi “a blatant racist, a sexual weirdo or worse a child abuser and someone discriminating on the basis of the Hindu caste system, which is now outlawed in the UK”.Singh said “it would therefore be totally inappropriate to have a statue of Gandhi erected in Parliament Square”.The Federation has also written to Philip Jackson, the British sculptor who has been approached by the British government to begin work on Gandhi’s statue asking him to boycott the project.The Federation is also writing to anti-racists groups, campaign groups opposed to paedophilia and organisations that have been working in the UK to have caste discrimination outlawed in the UK.They are being urged to unite to oppose the statue and write to all UK politicians that support their causes “highlighting the other side to Gandhi’s life that many choose to turn a blind eye”.The plan to have a Gandhi statue at Parliament Square in London was announced by British foreign secretary William Hague and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne on Tuesday.They intend to have the monument in place early next year. Once installed, the statue will provide a focal point for commemoration next summer of the 100th anniversary of Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa to start the struggle for self-rule, as well as the passing of 70 years since his death in 2018, and the 150th anniversary of his birth in 2019”.The memorial will stand alongside those to other international leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln.Hague said “Gandhi’s view of communal peace and resistance to division, his desire to drive India forward, and his commitment to non-violence left a legacy that is as relevant today as it was during his life. He remains a towering inspiration and a source of strength. We will honour him with a statue alongside those of other great leaders in Parliament Square”.Osborne added “As the father of the largest democracy in the world, it’s time for Gandhi to take his place in front of the mother of Parliaments. He is a figure of inspiration, not just in Britain and India, but around the world. New Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked his memory in his inaugural speech to Parliament. I hope this new memorial will be a lasting and fitting tribute to his memory in Britain, and a permanent monument to our friendship with India”.The Gandhi statue will be the 11th statue to be erected in Parliament square.