London, March 14: The former governor of Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, delivered a tour de force today at the unveiling of Mahatma Gandhi's statue on a cold but sunlit morning in Parliament Square in London.

Gopalkrishna began in dramatic fashion by turning to the statue, which, incidentally, is inscribed not with "Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi" but "Mahatma Gandhi".

"He looked rather like this 68 years ago to his assassin," stated Gopalkrishna. "He looked straight into his eyes quite exactly like this. Gandhi was walking, of course, not standing, as he walked into those three bullets."

"Had he lived he would have asked to have the man who shot at him freed," he went on. "He had after all been greatly influenced by Jesus Christ."

"We need him in India today more than we ever have," declared Gopalkrishna.

He explained why he spoke of India as feminine.

"I have used 'she' for India for 'she' the woman in India, worshipped in concept but neglected, exploited and abused in reality so often, is one of the scorching truths of India," said Gopalkrishna.

He had a barbed reference to Nathuram Godse - meant possibly for an audience back home. "The fact that London, the capital of a then imperial power he disengaged India from, raises a statue for him even as India has some people contemplate a temple for his assassin shows that Gandhi's work for freedom of belief and expression succeeds in the most unbelievable ways."

After Bapu's favourite hymn, Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram, performed by musicians from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, had wafted over to the Houses of Parliament, Gandhi's statue was unveiled by Indian finance minister Arun Jaitley in the presence of British Prime Minister David Cameron. Both rose to the occasion with eloquent words.

They placed rose petals at Gandhi's feet, as did the unveiling party that included Amitabh Bachchan and the trustees of the fundraising committee, Meghnad and Kishwar Desai.

An appreciative buzz - "very nice" - went round the crowd, which extended beyond the VIP ranks to members of the public, including many Indians settled in the UK. Many parents had brought their children. The donors were present too - Lakshmi Mittal, Rahul Bajaj and N.R. Narayana Murthy among them.

The culture secretary, Sajid Javid, acted as master of ceremonies, introducing Bachchan as "probably the greatest actor in the history of Indian cinema - he is the star of almost 200 films. Today he will be sharing an extract from Gandhi's teachings".

As a cheer went up from beyond the VIP seats, Javid quipped: "I think some of his fans are here this morning."

Jaitley spoke before Bachchan.

"Nobody embodies the deep and enduring connections between the world's oldest democracy and the world's largest democracy as well as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi - the Mahatma - whose statue is being unveiled in Parliament Square today," the finance minister said.

Even as Gandhi "waged this struggle, he admired Britain, valued many of the things it stood for, and cherished his friendships with scores of Britons. During the Battle of Britain he was moved to tears at the thought that Westminster Abbey might be bombarded. So great was his regard for British values that he would condemn many unfair and unjust practices as 'un-British'," observed Jaitley.

"One of his deepest spiritual bonds was struck with C.F. Andrews, the only person who called him by his first name 'Mohan', whereas the world referred to him more respectfully as Bapu or Gandhiji," he recalled.