LONDON (TIP): President Barack Obama‘s recent visit to India scuttled Britain’s plan to unveil the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the parliament square. Britain had announced it would install the statue at parliament square in London on January 30 — the 11th statue to be erected in the square. But plans had to be shelved after India announced that Obama would be the chief guest for the Republic Day celebration.

Speaking to mediapersons, economist Lord Meghnad Desai who heads a trust that is raising money for the statue said that UK and India are working on finding another date for the ceremony.

“It has to be by March, after which Britain goes into general election mode, which is scheduled for May 7,” Desai said. He confirmed that Philip Jackson, a leading British figurative sculptor, has completed making the statue. The memorial will stand alongside those to other international leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln.