A day ahead of his visit to the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday got a flavour of cricket.
The occasion was a breakfast meeting hosted here for Modi by Queensland Prime Minister Campbell Newman where the former Aussie pace bowler Michael Kasprowicz was present. (Also read: When Prime Minister Modi invited Kapil, Gavaskar for his tour Down Under)
Kasprowics, who was the master of ceremonies, brought the house down when he said how Indians used to relish batting legend Sachin Tendulkar smashing him for fours and sixes.
It was as if India’s Gross National Happiness is Tendulkar, he said.
Kasprowics, who hails from Queensland, also shook hands with Modi.
After his Summit talks with Australian counterpart Tony Abbott and addressing the Australian Parliament in Canberra tomorrow, Modi heads to Melbourne Tuesday evening where he will pay a visit to the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
The MCG can accommodate over a lakh people.
“Cricket is a shared passion of Australia and India. I thank PM@Tony AbbottMHR for hosting me at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground,” said Modi on Twitter, ahead of his visit.
It is rare for foreign leaders to be hosted at the stadium where Michael Jackson, Rolling Stones and Madonna have performed and where pope John Paul III held a mass in 1986.
Kasprowicz, 42, was known for his swing and relentless and hard-working approach, and was particularly known for his contributions in 2004 to Australia’s success in the Indian subcontinent.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today told the Indian Diaspora living in Australia that there are many people who were born after independence and therefore could not get the opportunity to sacrifice their lives for the nation but they all have the opportunity now to live for the country.
“We couldn’t die for the nation, but we can live for the nation, that is something that everyone has the opportunity to do,” Narendra Modi told a rapturous crowd at Allphones Arena of Olympic park in Sydney.
“I am fortunate that I am the first PM of India who was born in independent India,hence I feel greater responsibility.We couldn’t die for the nation, but we can live for the nation, that is something that everyone has got the opportunity to do. It takes one day to come to Australia, but it took 28 years for an Indian PM to come here. My friends in Australia I assure you…you won’t have to wait for 28 years,” said Modi.
“India is young. Full of young energy. We have capacity to work. Swami had talked about it. It was his dream – In front of my eyes, I can see my mother as vishwa guru. She will be a guide to the world. That is why I have faith in the great vision of the Swami. 6 months are nothing for this huge nation. I want to ask you, do you have the faith that I have? Can we serve humanity, can we stand tall again? We you agree, they your faith will become god’s blessing. If you have faith then there is nothing that can stop us,” added Modi.
Modi assured a visa on arrival facility for Australian tourists and announced a two-month deadline for the long-pending merger of OCI and PIO status to woo the Indian diaspora from whom he sought support for his ambitious Clean India campaign.
Addressing a frenzied crowd of around 20,000 in the packed Allphones Arena here, Modi took a dig at the previous governments saying while they were happy to make laws he was “happier to remove” them.
“Let’s open the windows let fresh air come in,” Modi said referring to his government’s efforts to weed out obsolete laws.
Touched by the grand reception, Modi said he was honoured and humbled and will never forget this day. “I know that behind this affection lies expectations. Yes. We want to create the India you are dreaming of.” “This welcome, this respect, this enthusiasm I dedicate it to the people of India,” said Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Australia in 28 years.
Modi announced that his government was working on to facilitate visa on arrival for Australian tourists and said the PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) and OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) status will be merged ahead of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to be held from January 7 in Ahmedabad.
Modi had announced merger of PIO and OCI during his visit to the US in September but had not given a timeline then.
