New York:

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York State Assemblywoman Jennifer Rajkumar unveiled a new statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside a temple in Queens, replacing an old one that was vandalized twice more than a year ago. statue.

“Last year, the Gandhi statue in South Richmond Hill was destroyed. But our spirit of unity and rebuilding was not. Today, we stand with our community and say: Hate has no place in our city.” Adams said in a post on X.

Last year, a statue of Gandhi in South Richmond Hill was destroyed. But the same cannot be said for our spirit of unity and renewal.

Today, we stand with our community and say: Hate has no place in our city.

We embody the values ​​of justice given by Gandhi… pic.twitter.com/tPUOSzpguj

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) January 21, 2024

“We embody the values ​​of justice for which Gandhi died,” he said after the new statue was unveiled last week outside the Shri Tulsi Mandir in South Richmond Hill.

Rajkumar, Adams and community leaders unveiled a new statue of the Mahatma, which replaces one that was “infamously destroyed” in a hate crime in August 2022, his office said.

Her office added: “The unveiling of the new statue sends the message that love will always triumph over hate.”

In August 2022, unknown persons used a sledgehammer to destroy a handmade statue of Mahatma Gandhi in a Hindu temple. Investigating officials said the same Gandhi statue was vandalized two weeks before the August 2022 incident.

In a post on I led the Richmond Hill community in an international movement for peace after our statue of Mahatma Gandhi was destroyed in a hate crime. Today is a historic moment as @NYCMayor and I are on hand to unveil a brand new statue of Gandhi. Love Hate will always be defeated,” she said.

The Consulate General of India in New York strongly condemns this act of vandalism and has taken up the matter with the US authorities to ensure that those responsible for the “despicable act” are held accountable.

New York City Councilmember Lynn Schulman posted on .

“So many people, including @JeniferRajkumar, @DavidWeprin and myself, are united against this hate,” she said, adding that she was proud to join the community in unveiling the new Gandhi statue.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)