PM joked about media's "trap", says Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee

Banerjee, who won the Nobel along with Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer, met PM Modi at a time when BJP ministers have criticized his views.

Not long ago, Union Minister Piyush Goyal called the 58-year-old left-leaning and reminded that India rejected his idea. To recall, Banerjee had helped Congress in formulating the NYAY scheme.

Reacting to this, Banerjee said Goyal was questioning his professionalism.

Now, Banerjee is the one who gave several interviews and asked the government to do something about the crisis.

But after meeting PM Modi, he said, "PM Modi started by cracking a joke on how media is trying to trap me to say anti-Modi things... He's been watching the TV and he's been watching you guys. And he knows what you are trying to do."

Coming out of the meeting, Banerjee said he was impressed with PM Modi's views on bureaucracy.

"He talked about the way he sees governance, and why in some sense the mistrust of some people on the ground colors our governance... and therefore creates structures of elite control over the governance process... not a responsive government," he told media. Banerjee agreed with PM Modi on this.

At the press meet, Banerjee also said, "A very large part of my work in India is about bettering the quality of education. It has always been about increasing the quality of education and Nobel committee has recognized that body of work."

He added that healthcare is facing a major problem globally, as people don't get effective treatment even after spending loads of money.