Congratulating Indian-American economist Abhijit Banerjee for winning the Economics Nobel prize, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at the Narendra Modi government for the state of the economy of the country.

The former Congress chief hit out at the Centre over its economic policies, saying "Modinomics" was destroying the country's economy.

Congratulations to #AbhijitBanerjee on winning the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Abhijit helped conceptualise NYAY that had the power to destroy poverty and boost the Indian economy.

Instead we now have Modinomics, that’s destroying the economy and boosting poverty. https://t.co/joBYusVFKT

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 14, 2019

Rahul’s comment also drew a sharp reaction from the BJP, which wondered if he will ever learn to be graceful.

Wishing Banerjee for winning the coveted honour, the Congress leader said the economist had helped conceptualise Nyay, a minimum income guarantee scheme that was promised by the Congress in the Lok Sabha election.

"Abhijit helped conceptualise NYAY that had the power to destroy poverty and boost the Indian economy. Instead, we now have Modinomics, that's destroying the economy and boosting poverty," Rahul said in a tweet.

Slamming Rahul for his remarks, the BJP said that he was not only politicising Banerjee's Nobel prize but also using it to attack PM Modi.

"Here is PM Modi congratulating Abhijit Banerjee without any ifs and buts despite knowing that he has been a critic. And Rahul Gandhi is not only politicizing Abhijit's Nobel prize, but also using it to attack PM Modi. I know it is tough but will Rahul ever learn to be graceful?" BJP's Amit Malviya wrote on Twitter.

PM Modi congratulated the economist for winning the Nobel prize and said that he made notable contributions in the field of poverty alleviation.

"Congratulations to Abhijit Banerjee on being conferred the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. He has made notable contributions in the field of poverty alleviation," PM Modi tweeted.

Abhijit Banerjee along with wife Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer was awarded the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for an experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.

Banerjee is the second Indian to win a Nobel prize in economics after Amartya Sen who won The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1998 for his contributions to welfare economics.