Wharton snub: Support grows for Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi`s address at the prestigious Wharton India Economic Forum later this month was cancelled under pressure from multiple stakeholders.

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: A day after Narendra Modi`s keynote address at the Wharton Indian Economic Forum was cancelled, the Gujarat Chief Minister found support from the BJP’s ally Shiv Sena and shipping magnate Gautam Adani. In a bid to mark their protest against the cancellation of Modi`s address, Shiv Sena leader Suresh Prabhu and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani have decided to cancel their scheduled addresses at the prestigious forum. Suresh Prabhu, who is a member of the India Economic Forum at Wharton, said he considers the university`s U-turn on Modi an insult to the country. "It was Wharton which invited him. Modi did not ask that he be invited. And if you are calling off the invite, I think it is not only an insult of the Gujarat Chief Minister but of the entire country," Prabhu said. On the reason for cancelling the Wharton visit, Prabhu said, "I have been a regular speaker at colleges and universities all over the world, be it in the US, Japan, Singapore or the Middle East...I find this (Wharton snub to Modi) a ridiculous decision. Modi did not ask that he be invited. He is a democratically-elected leader, a three-term CM. Modi is not someone who has been hoisted on somebody. He has been elected as representative of people in fairly conducted polls by the Election Commission". "The university should be a place where divergent views are debated. Such a decision, that too by a varsity in the US, is unfathomable," he said. "Gujarat is a leading developed and industrialised state in the country. All businessmen, be it Tata, Ambani or global business leaders, are coming to Gujarat," Prabhu said. Later, Adani Group, however, said its chairman Gautam Adani had decided to pull out of Wharton India Economic Forum almost a fortnight back, in an apparent reference that his absence is not related to the cancellation of Modi`s address. "Adani has conveyed his inability to join Wharton India Economic Forum long back (almost a fortnight ago) as he has other pressing commitments," an Adani Group spokesperson said. Modi`s address at the prestigious Wharton India Economic Forum later this month was cancelled on Sunday under pressure from multiple stakeholders. "We do not endorse any political views and do not support any specific ideology. Our goal as a team is only to stimulate valuable dialogue on India`s growth story," the Forum had said in a statement on Sunday. Modi was invited to deliver the keynote address at the Forum to be held in Philadelphia on March 22-23 via videoconference. The Forum is an annual student-run India-centric conference hosted by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. A group of Wharton`s professors and students had written a strongly-worded letter saying they are outraged to learn that the Forum has invited Modi as a keynote speaker. Since its inception in 1996, the meet has emerged as one of the largest and most prestigious India-focused business conferences that provides a platform for leaders to discuss the opportunities present in India and the challenges that need to be addressed. Earlier keynote speakers have included former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, BJP leader Varun Gandhi and industrialist Anil Ambani. (With PTI inputs)