Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Even as Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF) announced cancellation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s keynote address,the event’s main sponsor,Ahmedabad-based Adani Group’s chairman Gautam Adani,opted out of the event. Adani was also among the keynote speakers at this event scheduled for March 22-23.
Although WIEF’s official brochure,emailed to the media Monday,continued to list Adani as a speaker,a company spokesperson said the decision for its chairman opting out was taken some time back.
The Forum,an annual student-run India-centric conference,is hosted by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
While Modi had been invited to deliver the keynote address at the Forum to be held in Philadelphia on March 22-23 via video-conference,Adani group is the platinum sponsor of the event.
The official statement from WIEF said,”The student organising body was extremely impressed with Mr Modi’s credentials,governance ideologies and leadership,which was the primary reason for his invitation…. Our team felt that the potential polarising reactions from sub-segments of the alumni base,student body and our supporters might put Mr Modi in a compromising position,which we would like to avoid at all costs.”
Standing by its decision to invite Modi,the WIEF added,”We hope to have Mr Modi speak at a more appropriate forum where he can interact with students without the distraction of this kind of attention.”
Earlier in the day,former Union minister and Shiv Sena leader Suresh Prabhu said he was calling off his visit to Wharton in protest against cancellation of Modi’s address.
Prabhu,who was invited to speak at the same programme,termed this decision “ridiculous” and announced that he will not attend as a mark of protest.
“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.
The Shiv Sena leader maintained that Modi is a democratically elected leader and a “three-term CM”.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
