Congress makes Abhijit Banerjee u-turn, calls PM Modi meet 'Photo-Op'

A day after Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee met PM Modi in Delhi, Congress senior leader Kapil Sibal, on Wednesday, slammed the meeting calling it a photo-op. Sibal had taken a jibe at the economist calling his meeting PM Modi - 'Left-leaning meets Right-leaning'. He also said that that there may be a photo-op and a tweet but the two sides will never meet. Congress had previously backed Banerjee as he had advised them on their NYAY scheme.

Sibal calls PM Modi- Abhijit Banerjee meeting 'photo-op'

WATCH | Abhijit Banerjee opens up on meeting PM Modi, shares bureaucracy plan

Banerjee jokes about media

Earlier on Tuesday, Banerjee while addressing a press conference said that media is trying to make him say "Anti-Modi things". He said that he is not going to take any questions related to this and the focus of the press meet should be healthcare. Trying to reform people's perception of the government, Banerjee added that PM Modi was trying to reform the bureaucracy. 

Nobel Laureate Banerjee said: "The Prime Minister started by cracking a joke about you. He started by saying how media is trying to trap me to say Anti- Modi things. He understands all of this. He has been watching television. He is in touch with news. So Stop."

WATCH | Abhijit Banerjee: PM knows media trying to trap me to speak anti-Modi

PM Modi meets Abhijit Banerjee

Banerjee had earlier met with PM Modi in Delhi on Tuesday. PM Modi had tweeted that he had a healthy and extensive interaction on various subjects with the economist. He expressed India's pride in Banerjee's accomplishments. He also wished him luck in his future endeavors.

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Abhijit Banerjee and wife win Nobel prize in Economics

Abhijit Banerjee, the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology won the Nobel Prize in Economics on October 14 along with Esther Duflo. They were awarded the honour for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty. The Indian-American economist had completed his education at the University of Calcutta, Jawarharlal Nehru University, and then acquired his Ph.D. in 1988 from Harvard University. 

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