Screaming fans dub Modi a \\\'rock star\\\' in Australia

FE Team | Published: November 18, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

SYDNEY, Nov 17 (AFP): Thousands of rapturous supporters Monday flocked to hear a public address by Narendra Modi on the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Australia in 28 years, many declaring their love for him.
Modi, who won India's biggest electoral victory in three decades in the April-May polls, was greeted like a pop star on a trip to New York in September and received a similar reception in Sydney, which he is visiting after attending the G20 summit in Brisbane.
"Modi's a rock star!" screamed one supporter as the Indian premier took the stage to a wildly enthusiastic reception.
"This love, this welcome... I give this to the feet of the children of mother India," Modi said, observing that many people were still outside, unable to gain access to the packed venue.
Modi drew cheers from the crowd when he referenced the two nations' shared passion, saying neither "Australia nor India can live without cricket". His speech also covered topics such as Hindu nationalism and Indian independence.
"He is our most charismatic leader and he is going to take our country to the next generation," Sushil Chaddha, an IT consultant who has lived in Australia for three decades, told AFP in stifling heat outside Sydney's Olympic Park.
"We all love him."
Beside Chaddha stood dozens of people wearing "Modi in Australia" T-shirts printed with the Indian leader's face in the style of Barack Obama's "Yes We Can" 2008 election posters.
Others chanted "Modi, Modi, Modi!" as they jumped, sang and danced, with drums and music playing in the background.
Some 20,000 people, mostly from the Indian diaspora in Australia, jammed the stadium, although some had travelled from as far as the United States, Singapore and New Zealand. Reports said there were 25 television crews from India at the event.
The so-called "Modi Express" saw more than 200 supporters board a train from Melbourne for the 12-hour journey to Sydney, singing and dancing in the carriages ahead of the event.