Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a message for critics and naysayers after billionaire investor Ray Dalio posted the video of an interview he had had with Modi and called him "one of the best, if not the best" leader in the world.
The Twitterverse had a lot to say in response, not all of it favourable, and Modi replied stating that the trolling that had stemmed from Dalio's words of praise "would give you the best opportunity to test your meditation skills and being 'like a Ninja'!". The video incidentally, discusses "meditation, the world, and India".
"The mandate people blessed our team with has been unseen for decades. A full five year government coming back to office with a majority was last seen many many years ago. A cross section of people, across regions, religions, languages, age groups and occupations have blessed us," the PM added.
The video is from Saudi Arabia's flagship annual investor meeting, where Modi delivered the keynote address and was then joined on stage by the Founder of investment management firm Bridgewater Associates, Dalio for a sit-down discussion.
"I had an opportunity to explore with him how he thinks as well as what he thinks," Dalio tweeted about his conversation with the prime minister on October 29.
Twitter had mixed reactions and while some praised the Prime Minister of his work, others expressed incredulity at Dalio's words. Soon after, Dalio expounded on why he believes that PM Modi is one of the greatest leaders in the world. In a series of Tweets, Dalio added that he was getting questions about his post, "mostly about geopolitics".
"I want to make clear that I’m not commenting on his geopolitical policies as I’m not knowledgeable enough to comment on them," he wrote. He added that what impressed him the most about PM Modi was "how he has brought the country together by helping the full range of people, from those who are in abject poverty to rich business leaders".
Dalio opined that Modi's success stemmed from his initiatives that provide "both basics and cutting edge digital technologies as part of his mission for India’s direction". Dalio cited the fact that the Modi-led government had built over a 100 million toilets, "which reduced diseases potentially saving approximately 300,000 lives by some estimates" to underscore his point.
Dalio had also praised Modi for doing "many remarkable things" in India during their chat at the third iteration of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) event.
During the course of their chat, Dalio quizzed the prime minister about his meditation practice, his thought process and how that pertained to looking at the world itself.
"Meditation plays a vital role in having balanced thoughts a balanced life and the right view of the world" responded Modi who pointed out that holier than thou attitude and the attitude of demeaning others has become the cause of struggles and true thinking can help in finding a way out of conflicts.
(With agency inputs)
