Abhijith Banerjee meets Modi: "PM knows media wants me to say anti-Modi things", says Nobel Laureate

New Delhi, Oct 22: Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. The Prime Minister dubbed the interaction between the two as "healthy and extensive".

Banerjee thanked PM Modi for taking time off for the interaction. Banerjee described the Prime Minister's way of thinking about India as "Unique". The Nobel Laureate said that Modi explained to him how the Prime Minister is trying to "reform the bureaucracy to make it more responsive".

"Excellent meeting with Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee. His passion towards human empowerment is clearly visible. We had a healthy and extensive interaction on various subjects. India is proud of his accomplishments. Wishing him the very best for his future endeavours," Modi tweeted after the meeting.

This comes four days after Union minister Piyush Goyal dubbed Nobel laureate economist Abhijit Banerjee as "Left-leaning", and said as his suggestion of basic income scheme was rejected by Indian voters.

Many had branded the Nobel laureate as being a critic of the current government's economic policies. Some had even speculated that Modi's delay in wishing Banerjee after he won Nobel was because of the fact that he was seen as a critic of Modi-led government's policies.

"Prime Minister started by cracking a joke about how the media is trying to trap me into saying anti-Modi things. He has been watching TV, he has been watching you guys, he knows what you are trying to do," Banerjee said after meeting the Prime Minister.

Abhijit Banerjee was last week named for the Nobel prize along with Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer. The Nobel committee had recognised the three economists for "their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty...which has transformed development economics".