Mumbai, March 4: The Adani group today pulled out as the main sponsor of Wharton India Economic Forum, a day after Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was dropped as the keynote speaker at the event in response to criticism from a section of professors and students of the prestigious US business school.

Modi was supposed to address the event through a live videoconference. Deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia will now take his place.

The Wharton controversy underscores the fact that Modi has not been able to shake off the stigma arising from his role in inciting the communal riots in Gujarat in 2002 even after winning the Gujarat polls for the third time last December. More than 1,000 people died in the riots and badly sullied Modi’s image abroad.

Modi has tried to project himself as a leader committed to the development of Gujarat as an investor-friendly destination and use that image to mask the sordid affair over the riots.

The Ahmedabad-headquartered Adani group wouldn’t immediately confirm that they had pulled out as sponsors as an expression of loyalty towards Modi. But late this evening, the Adani group — which had been listed as the platinum sponsor of this year’s event to be held on March 22 and 23 — no longer figured on the forum website.

Sources said they were unaware of this development.

However, the Adani group spokesperson said Gautam Adani, chairman of the Rs 20,400-crore group, would not take part at the conference. An official from the Adani group said his absence had nothing to do with the cancellation of Modi’s address. “Mr Adani had conveyed his inability to join Wharton India Economic Forum long ago as he has other pressing commitments,” a spokesperson said.

The forum is an annual student-run India-centric conference hosted by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. It is considered one of the most prestigious India-focused business conferences where thought leaders from various sectors discuss the opportunities present before India and the challenges that need to be addressed.

The decision to withdraw the invitation to Modi had another repercussion when former Union power minister Suresh Prabhu cancelled his visit as a mark of protest against the “insult to Modi”.

The Adani group’s decision to stop sponsoring the event will not jeopardise it as it has four other minor sponsors: Deutsche Bank, Colors, Hexaware Technologies and Incredible India, a government of India arm.

The other speakers at the event include Milind Deora, minister of state, IT & Communications, Ron Somers, president of the US-India Business Council, and Atul Nishar, chairman of Hexaware Technologies. Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi and actor Boman Irani will participate at a panel event to discus “media as a vehicle of social change”.

Past speakers at the event that began 16 years ago include former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, finance minister P. Chidambaram, ICICI group chairman K.V. Kamath, BJP leader Varun Gandhi, and industrialists Anil Ambani and Sunil Mittal.