Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott embraces India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (L) embraces India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he officially welcomes leaders to the G20 summit in Brisbane November 15, 2014. The meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 economies has opened in Brisbane, with Abbott stressing the importance of global economic issues at a summit that has been dominated by the crisis in Ukraine, climate change and the United States' Asia-Pacific pivot. REUTERS/David Gray

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled Gandhi statue in Brisbane. He said that the Indian legend was an inspiration to solve global warming.

The Indian community in the city, consisting of 80,000 Indians, apparently went crazy over Modi's visit. They crowded Wickham Terrace in hundreds and waited for their prime minister to arrive. They shouted Modi's name while they waited for Modi to come and unveil the Gandhi statue. While several people were mesmerised the way U.S. President Barack Obama captivated the audience with his speech at the G20 summit, many believed that Modi was the true star of the show. The Age quoted one of the Modi fans calling India's "rock star prime minister" as India's Obama. According to the Modi supporter, the 64-year-old leader is the one who is all set to bring in a positive change.

This was the first visit to Brisbane by an Indian prime minister in the last 28 years. Modi's official meeting was held at the Roma Street Parklands where he was introduced as "the man of the moment, the man of the millennium." Modi spoke in Hindi as he talked chiefly about two issues, Gandhi and climate change. Modi said that the philosophy of exploitation was at the heart of global warming. It is a result of plundering and destroying Mother Nature for centuries, he said. Modi said that global warming could have been avoided if the world followed what Gandhi had preached. He said that Gandhi would be as relevant as in the contemporary world as he was during his lifetime.

According to Sky News, an "extravagant" welcome would be expected for the Indian prime minister in Canberra as India had earlier welcomed Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott in a spectacular manner as well. Modi is scheduled to address Australia's parliament on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Very few international leaders are offered such a rare symbolic opportunity. Modi is expected to address thousands of Indians at Olympic Park in Sydney.

The Gandhi statue unveiled by Modi is sculpted by Ram and Anil Sutar. A Springfield bridge is going to be named as the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Bridge in January 2015.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au