Abhijit Banerjee, the India-born economist, is in the news for winning a Nobel Prize in Economics along with two others (both also foreigners). Banerjee, one of the most important development economists in the world, is not an Indian citizen. However, his Indian connection should make everyone proud.

Earlier this year, he was in the news in relation to NYAY. It was Rahul Gandhi's pet scheme of poverty alleviation. "My government will transfer Rs 72,000 per year to the poorest of the poor families," he said. Banerjee was one of the architects of this controversial scheme. He proposed raising taxes to fund this extravagant scheme whose estimated budget is Rs 3.60 lakh crores per annum.

The pro-BJP commentariat is of the view that Banerjee's NYAY would have destroyed the Indian economy instead of poverty. "He supports increasing taxes on the middle-class and the rich. One of the reasons the Congress lost so badly in urban areas is this proposal," a commentator says.

"Rahul Gandhi is regretting that Banerjee's idea can't be implemented. Why can't he implement it in Madhya Pradesh, where Congress is ruling? He can show it as a model if it works," asks another.

Countering the pro-BJP critics, commentator Sanjukta Basu writes, "Apart from Manmohan Singh, Congress also has Raghuram Rajan, Amartya Sen and now another Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee who have been consulted and are willing to share expertise to help Indian economy. What has BJP got? Sitharaman and Bollywood trade analysts."