New Delhi/Washington:
Wharton Business School has yet to decide on who will replace Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the keynote speaker at its India Economic Forum to be held later this month.
Activist-turned-politician Arvind Kejriwal will address the event via video conference. "It has been reported in some sections of the media that I have replaced Mr Narendra Modi. I think this is not correct. I have been in talks with them for the past 15 days. As far as I am concerned, these are two different events," he said.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Junior Education Minister Shashi Tharoor are other prominent politicians who have reportedly been approached to attend the conference on March 22-23, which is organised largely by students. In the past, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been invited to address the forum; some sources say he was asked this year as well.
Mr Modi was dropped unceremoniously on Sunday night from the event because of pressure from the prestigious business school's management and alumni.
In an apparent show of loyalty, the Adani Group, which is headquartered in Gujarat, pulled out last night as the main sponsor of the Wharton India Economic Forum.
A signature campaign at Wharton lobbied stridently against Mr Modi's visit because of the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002.
Mr Modi was in office when violence lacerated his state, killing nearly 1200 people, most of them Muslims. His critics have alleged that he was complicit in the riots, an accusation which has not been proven in court and has been denied by the chief minister and his party.