Wharton cancels Modi’s keynote address

Ahmedabad, 3 March 2013

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s keynote address at the India Economic Forum in Philadelphia later this month has been cancelled by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

“As it stands currently, Mr. Modi’s keynote address at Wharton India Economic Forum has been cancelled,” the statement said.

“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 statement said.

In its statement, the Forum said the student body was extremely impressed with Modi’s credentials, governance ideologies, and leadership, which was the primary reason for his invitation.

“However, as a responsible student body within the University of Pennsylvania, we must consider the impact on multiple stakeholders in our ecosystem. our team felt that the poential 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, especially in the spirit of our conference’s purpose,’ it said.

The Forum said even as it stood by its decision to invite Modi, “we believe that this course of action (of cancelling his address) would be the most appropriate in the light of reactions of the multiple stakeholders involved.”

Mr Modi had been approached by the Wharton School’s students’ body, which organises the India Economic Forum, and he had agreed to deliver a keynote address through video conference on March 23.

Later, a specific group of Wharton’s professors and alumni students opposed a decision to invite Mr. Modi as speaker.