In a setback and visible embarrassment to Narendra Modi government, Moody’s has categorically denied the Prime Minister’s Office’s clarification that its warning on India’s religious intolerance was a personal opinion of a junior analyst’s and not the agency’s.
A spokesperson from the Moody’s told The Hindu, “The report was published by and is the view of Moody’s Analytics as part of its economic outlook series. The report included a section observing political developments in the context of their potential economic impact, and did not advocate any political agenda or perspective.”
The PMO on Wednesday had desperately tried to convey that everything was fine. Media channels too carried the headlines without verifying the government’s assertion with the rating agency.
The statement from the PMO had said, “Opinion of a Junior Associate Economist employed with Moody’s Analytics has been splashed all across implying it as the opinion of Moody’s Analytics.”
There are reports that the PMO had issued the statement without consulting Moody’s Analytics.
The report warning Prime Minister Narendra Modi that unless he steps in to rein in the members of the BJP, India runs the risk of losing domestic and global credibility, was dismissed by the PMO as opinion of a Junior Associate Economist employed with Moody’s Analytics.
Moody’s report had said, “Along with a possible increase in violence, the government will face stiffer opposition in the upper house as debate turns away from economic policy. Modi must keep his members in check or risk losing domestic and global credibility.”