Amid political sparring and opposition taunts over Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving "the first ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award", the marketing guru put out a clarification on Twitter on Tuesday and also applauded the prime minister's "selfless service towards India".
"I congratulate PM @narendramodi for being conferred the first ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award. He has been selected for his outstanding leadership & selfless service towards India, combined with his tireless energy," tweeted Philip Kotler, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management.
He said PM Modi's efforts in India had resulted in "extraordinary economic, social and technological advances" and his win "raises the bar for future recipients."
I congratulate PM @narendramodi for being conferred the first ever Philip Kotler Presidential Award. He has been selected for his outstanding leadership & selfless service towards India, combined with his tireless energy. (1/2)
— Philip Kotler (@kotl) January 15, 2019
Mr Kotler's tweets were in response to a controversy over the award following Congress president Rahul Gandhi's sarcastic "congratulatory" message.
"I want to congratulate our PM, on winning the world famous "Kotler Presidential Award"! In fact it's so famous it has no jury, has never been given out before and is backed by an unheard of Aligarh company," Rahul Gandhi jeered in a post that was retweeted by many PM Modi critics, including RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
I want to congratulate our PM, on winning the world famous "Kotler Presidential Award"!
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 15, 2019
In fact it's so famous it has no jury, has never been given out before & is backed by an unheard of Aligarh company.
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Union minister Smriti Irani lashed back in a tweet, saying unlike PM Modi, members of the Gandhi family gave India's top honour to themselves.
Rich !!! Coming from a person whose illustrious family decided to confer the 'Bharat Ratna' on themselves. https://t.co/ipzyRrXNiX
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) January 15, 2019
Smriti Irani, several other union ministers and BJP leaders had congratulated PM Modi profusely for the award.
PM Modi given the award by members of the World Marketing Summit India.
Left leader Sitaram Yechury, however, posted a link to an investigation by news website The Wire, in which questions were raised about the award jury and the organisation. It quoted one Tauseef Zia Siddiqui, calling himself the representative of Philip Kotler, as saying: "It's a very confidential award". The article also pointed out that there was nothing from Mr Kotler on the award.
Mr Kotler addressed this point in his tweets.
I was involved in a misunderstanding with the Indian media. Confusion over the award presented to India's PM @narendramodi by my friend Jag Sheth and The World Marketing Summit. Here's my @marketingjour interview to clear up the confusion: https://t.co/rHmnv86QU2
— Philip Kotler (@kotl) January 15, 2019
The interview had Mr Kotler saying that PM Modi "stood the highest" on key leadership criteria and asserting that "the final decision was mine". He clarified that he could not travel to India so asked Marketing Professor Jagdish Sheth, to do the honors.
Next, said Mr Kotler, would be the "Philip Kotler Business Leadership Award".
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