PM Modi mocks note ban critics

Mocking economists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said “hard work is more powerful than Harvard” as the latest GDP data show demonetisation did not affect growth rate, rather the figures improved. “On the one hand are those [critics of note ban] who talk of what people at Harvard say and on the other hand is a poor man’s son who through his hardwork is trying to improve the economy,” he said at an election meeting here. “In fact, hard work is much more powerful than Harvard”, he said without elaborating. His remark came against the backdrop of Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen terming demonetisation as a “despotic action that has struck at the root of the economy based on trust.” The government had on Tuesday pegged GDP growth at a higher-than-expected 7.1 per cent for 2016-17 despite the cash blues, which was higher than China’s 6.8 per cent for October-December period of 2016, making India retain the tag of the world’s fastest growing economy.

‘Gift and bonus’

Coming back to electoral politics in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Modi said the electorate has already ‘ensured’ the BJP’s victory in the first five phases and now they would give surplus votes as ‘gift and bonus’ in the remaining two rounds. “I request the voters of the State to give the rest of the two phases as bonus to the party. This is similar to the chillies and coriander leaves, which the vegetable seller gives to the buyer as bonus,” he said, drawing applause from the crowd. A few days back the Prime Minister had spoken of the possibility of a hung Assembly in the State, saying the SP and the BSP were waiting for such an opportunity for bargaining, prompting Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to comment that after dreaming of 300-plus seats, Mr. Modi was now talking about a fractured verdict. Mr. Modi also referred to the website of the Uttar Pradesh government to slam Mr. Akhilesh Yadav on his ‘kaam bolta hai’ (work speaks for itself) slogan. “The U.P. government website endorses my statement of ‘karnama bolta hai’ as the site says life in U.P. is short and uncertain...In this respect, U.P. resembles Saharan Africa,” he said. Mr. Modi said he was sure that as soon as his speech was over, the officers entrusted with the task of maintaining the website would be immediately reprimanded. He also took a dig at the Congress-SP alliance claiming, “One of them has the expertise in destroying India, while the other has the expertise in destroying Uttar Pradesh.”

He also challenged the Congress and asked what it had done for the country since Independence.