Wharton missed chance to grill Narendra Modi: Shashi Tharoor

New Delhi, March 6: Months after

's remark on his wife Sunanda Pushkar, it seems that

is yet to get over it. Now, igniting the Wharton controversy, the Union minister of state for human resources development took a dig at the

Chief Minister.

Criticising the decision taken by Wharton India Economic Forum, Tharoor claimed that the students had missed chance to Modi on various account.

"I disagree profoundly with Mr Modi... Students should have gone through his various decisions and record. Once invited, they should have actually heard him out and they should have actually challenged (Modi's various decisions)," said Tharoor.

"University is a place where you can answer questions and ask questions... Once you invite somebody, then disinviting is unnecessary," he added.

The forum, which earlier had asserted that the student body was extremely impressed with Modi's credentials, governance ideologies, and leadership, which was the primary reason for his invitation, later shocked all after uninviting the Gujarat CM. Modi was scheduled to address the students at the conclave via video conference on March 23.

According to a press release,a group of professors and students at Wharton had written a strong letter saying they are outraged to learn that the forum had invited Modi as a keynote speaker.

"This is the same politician who was refused a diplomatic visa by the United States State Department on March 18, 2005 on the ground that he, as Chief Minister, did nothing to prevent a series of orchestrated riots that targeted Muslims in Gujarat," the release said.

With Tharoor's remark on Modi may create another controversy. Earlier Modi had irked Tharoor whilesaying Tharoor's wife was once his "Rs 50-crore-girlfriend".

The remarks were made a day after the Congress leader made a comeback in the Union council of ministers as minister of state for human resources development.

"There was a Congress leader who was a minister. He was accused of amassing wealth from cricket. He had said in Parliament that he is not connected to the Rs. 50 crore in the lady's name," Modi had said in an apparent reference to Tharoor in the context of the IPL cricket controversy involving Sunanda Pushkar in 2010.

The Union Minister, who earlier had resigned following the IPL row, had hit back, saying his wife is "priceless" but Modi needs to be able to love someone to understand that. Tharoor also said his wife was worth a lot more than Modi's "imaginary Rs. 50 crore".

OneIndia News