New Delhi, Feb. 3 -- India on Tuesday strongly condemned the vandalisation and removal of a Mahatma Gandhi statue in Australia and said it has taken up the matter with the Australian authorities, urging immediate action to recover the statue and bring the culprits to justice.

"We strongly condemn the vandalisation and removal of the Mahatma Gandhi statue located at the Australian Indian Community Centre in Rowville, Melbourne, by unidentified people. We have strongly raised the matter with Australian authorities and urged them to take immediate action to recover the missing statue and hold the culprits accountable," Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Randhir Jaiswal said in reponse to media queries.

The stat...