Indian community bridges Diwali celebrations in Auckland after controversial race-based commentary

National leader Simon Bridges decided to fix the barriers with the Indian community after controversial race-based comments emerged this week.

Surrounded by the lights and colors of Diwali festival celebrations in Auckland, Bridges performed in front of hundreds of people gathered in the city's Aotea Square, in saris and kurtas, to thank the Indian community for its contribution to the New Zealand.

"It is fantastic to be here today and I wish you all a very happy birthday, Diwali," he said.

Bridges has been involved in a series of explosive scandals this week after former national deputy Jami-Lee Ross accused him of electoral fraud, an assertion strongly belied by the leader of the National Party.

Members of the Indian and Chinese communities have also criticized Bridges for his race-based comments captured during a recording released earlier this week between him and Ross.

Questioning the media after contributing to the coup of sending Diwali festivities, Bridges said he hoped to solve the problems raised by his race-based comments.

He said the national party wanted to build as a party that included people from all communities.

After speaking in the media, Bridges posed for photos with members of the public.

However, his enthusiasm was welcomed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

When the Prime Minister left the main stage, she was surrounded by people – many of them mothers and a girl in saris – looking for selfies with her.

The comments of this breed appeared this week when Ross released a secret recording that he had made during a phone conversation between Bridges and him earlier this year.

During the conversation, the two men discussed the Yikun Zhang business man and a donation of $ 100,000 to the party.

They then talked about potential candidates for National Party membership and the need to bring them from different ethnic communities.

"Two Chinese would be fine, but then, you know, would it be a Chinese and a Filipino, or, you know, what are we doing?" Bridges said.

"Two Chinese would be more valuable than two Indians, I must say," said Ross.

Asked about the conversation, Bridges later stated that he supported National's efforts to include a mix of ethnicities on his list, but he added that this had been discussed in ways that abrupt.

Indian High Commissioner Sanjiv Kohli was among those who criticized the conversations, tweeting that it was a "shocking attitude".

"Very inconsistent with New Zealand's values ​​Let's hope an aberration.India and the Indians respect and admire this country and its people.All is not for sale.The management of a country is different from the management of David Jones, "he said.

Bridges told the media today that he had since spoken to Kohli to dispel any misconceptions.

While the Indian community recently celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff also unveiled a new New Zealand postage stamp featuring the face of "father of the Indian nation.

Ardern used a quote from Gandhi in his speech, saying, "In a gentle way, you can shake the world."

New Zealand "as a diverse nation can be a bright light in the world," she said