MELBOURNE – A proposal by the Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria (FIAV) to install a life-size statue of India’s father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi opposite the Dandenong Station and adjacent to Little India, Foster Street shops has been shot down in a community consultation survey which closed on 7 June 2018.
According to a reliable source, more than 900 people participated in the survey commissioned by the Dandenong Council with more people saying no to the proposal. The survey information and other matters came up recently before a meeting of the Indian Prescient Task Force led by Gabrielle Williams, MP, Dandenong.
SAT contacted the Dandenong Council to know about the outcome of the survey and was told by Anya Murray that the information collected in the survey has been submitted to the Indian Prescient Task Force for a decision and the Council is likely to issue a media statement on the issue in a few weeks in August 2018.
FIAV leader and member of the Indian Prescient Task Force, Vasan Srinivasan talking to SAT said, “The Indian Prescient Task Force decided not to have any statue including that of Mathama Gandhi in the area.”
“I am not willing to take the proposal to another level, “Mr. Vasan told SAT.
Mr. Vasan also said, “We do not need any money for the Gandhi statue but the Dandenong Council needs to take leadership on this issue. Gandhi is more popular than anyone else in India and hence I do not support any other statue there.”