Nationalist Sliema councillor Paul Radmilli was the sole dissenting voice against the placement of a statue dedicated to cult leader Sri Chinmoy on the Sliema promenade.

Speaking to The Malta Independent, Mr Radmilli said he was not at the original council meeting when the decision to install the statue on the promenade was taken.

As soon as he was made aware of the decision, Mr Radmilli emailed his fellow councillors imploring them to dissociate themselves from the inauguration event and express disapproval at the installation of this monument.

The reply he received was that it was "too late" for the council to distance itself from event.

"Chinmoy is not exactly Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King. If you are going to put up a life‐sized statue in the area then the personality either has to be connected to Sliema or Malta.Chinmoy fails that test irrespective of the allegations of some of the women in his sect...

The fundamental issue here is that this is not some small plaque but a life‐sized statue. Such a prominent monument has to be for someone who has done something extraordinary," Mr Radmilli told this paper.

See also: Representative of peace movement responsible for Chinmoy statue to return to Malta