Shiv Sena leader cancels Wharton visit to support Modi

To protest against the cancellation of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's address at the Wharton India Economic Forum, Shiv Sena leader Suresh Prabhu Monday said he would also not attend the event.

To protest against the cancellation of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's address at the Wharton India Economic Forum, Shiv Sena leader Suresh Prabhu Monday said he would also not attend the event.

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Prabhu, who has been a regular speaker at national and international colleges and universities, strongly condemned the move stating that it was an insult to his country and not just Modi.

"Wharton had invited Modi. He did not ask for it. If you disinvite a person after you have sent an invitation, it is not only an insult to the Gujarat chief minister but of the entire country," Prabhu told mediapersons when asked why he cancelled his visit to Wharton.

Terming Wharton's decision to cancel Modi's visit as a speaker at the forum as "a ridiculous decision", Prabhu said that a university should be a place where divergent views are debated.

"Such a decision, that too by a varsity in the US, is unfathomable," he said.

Wharton Sunday abruptly cancelled its invitation to Modi to speak via live video conference at the annual student-run India-centric conference in Philadelphia.

The organisers said: "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, especially in the spirit of our conference's purpose."