Mumbai, January 16: Amidst controversy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving the first-ever Philip Kotler Presidential award, the marketing guru took to Twitter on Wednesday to give clarification for presenting the honour to the Indian PM. Philip Kotler, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management also appreciated PM Modi’s “selfless service towards India". He termed the entire controversy as "misconfusion" with the Indian media.

Kotler tweeted, “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.” Along with his tweet, he also gave the link of his interview in which he clarified about the controversy. He termed the entire controversy as "misconfusion" with the Indian media. Narendra Modi Receives ‘Champions of the Earth’ Award, UN Secretary-General Says ‘Indian PM Has Not Just Recognised Climate Change but Acted on It’.

Yesterday, the management guru congratulated PM Modi for receiving the award through a series of tweets and also highlighted the work done by the PM for which he received the honour. Kotler Tweeted, “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.

On Tuesday Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a dig at the Prime Minister for getting the award. He tweeted, “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 & is backed by an unheard of Aligarh company.”

PM Modi on Monday received the first-ever Philip Kotler Presidential award in New Delhi. The award focuses on the triple bottom-line of 'people, profit and planet'. It will be offered annually to the leader of a nation, a statement from the Prime Minister's office said. According to the award citation, Modi was selected for his "outstanding leadership for the nation". Narendra Modi Awarded the Seoul Peace Prize 2018 for His Contributions to Growth of Indian and Global Economies.

"His selfless service towards India, combined with his tireless energy has resulted in extraordinary economic, social and technological advances in the country," it read. The citation also states that under his leadership, India is now identified as the centre for innovation and value-added manufacturing (Make in India), as well as a global hub for professional services such as information technology, accounting and finance.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 16, 2019 03:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).