Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a statue of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi on Brisbane's Roma Street Parkland on Sunday.
Prime Minister Modi, who is in Brisbane to attend the ninth G-20 Summit, said he was grateful to Brisbane's Lord Mayor Graham Quirk for extending full cooperation and respecting the feelings of the Indian Diaspora.
"On the 2nd of October was born not a human being, but an entire generation. There is a discussion going on in India that I seem to be mentioning Mahatma Gandhi a lot after coming to power. I have always believed in the philosophy and ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi even before I became the chief minister of Gujarat," Modi told people who had gathered in large numbers to witness the event.
Prime Minister Modi further said Mahatma Gandhi used to love nature and was absolutely against its exploitation.
"He said this throughout his life and lived it. When Mahatma Gandhi used to live in his ashram, the Sabarmati River was full at that time, but still he would scold over wastage of water," Prime Minister Modi said.
"He showed us the path of non-violence. He believed not only in our acts, but also in our words we should be non-violent. If the world had followed his path, we could have solved many problems today. There are many entities that are using weapons today; all of this could have been avoided," he added.
Prime Minister Modi further stressed on the need for the world to work together for the welfare of humanity.
His supporters chanted 'Modi' slogans while he unveiled the statue of the iconic leader.
People are betting on Prime Minister Modi's visit to Australia to strengthen ties with the nearly 300,000-strong Indian Diaspora in the country, with a friendly tax regime for non-residents and options for dual citizenship on the wish list.
The Prime Minister is expected to draw 16,000 people to his rally in Sydney on Monday, while 270 people have booked themselves seats on the "Modi Express" train, which will run from Melbourne to Sydney.
Modi is also expected to meet 200 prominent Indian businessmen, entrepreneurs and students in Sydney.
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