India state bans book suggesting Gandhi bisexual

  

MUMBAI, India -- A state in western Indian state has banned Pulitzer-Prize winning author Joseph Lelyveld's new book about Mahatma Gandhi

The furor over Lelyveld's "Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and his Struggle With India" was sparked by local press reports claiming the book maligns the father of India's independence as a racist.

The reports also complained it portrayed Gandhi as bisexual. Gujarat's assembly voted unanimously Wednesday to ban "Great Soul" in the state with immediate effect.

The state's top politician, chief minister Narendra Modi, calls the writing "perverse."

Politicians in the state of Maharashtra, home to India's financial capital Mumbai, have asked the central government to bar publication nationwide.

The book has not been released in India.

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