The ongoing controversy between global magazine TIME's selection of the year honor has taken an unexpected turn when US President Donald Trump tweeted that he had turned down the honour this year but the magazine clarified that it never made any such mistake perhaps "for the second time."
"Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named 'Man of the Year,' like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!" Trump tweeted.
In its swift reply, the TIME magazine clarified:"The President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year. TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6."
The question is inevitably who'd be the man or 'Person of the Year 2017' and many names have been doing the rounds and the social media is abuzz with known and unknown names. Some have proposed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose expected elevation in global politics is gaining momentum, as the best choice for 2017.
The iron-hand with which Modi ushered in economic reforms, especially the most painful demonetization process affecting almost every family in the second-most populous country in the world has left the world leaders surprised and stunned.
Following on the same path, the Modi administration has successfully implemented GST this year, leaving the World Bank to IMF, every banker and every trading giant in the world happy about it. But TIME magazine remains tight-lipped until December 6 and no leaks are possible at the moment. What Trump was able to to do was to bring the world honor to global attention with his tweet, that too on the Thanksgiving Day occasion.
Last year, Trump was named Person of the Year by TIME magazine in December 2016, following his unexpected victory in the November 2016 elections against the favorite, Democrat Hillary Clinton. The TIME magazine said Trump's win in the elections represented a "long-overdue rebuke to an entrenched and arrogant governing class" and reflected the powerful rise of populism worldwide.
Now, perhaps Modi fits the bill this year among the world leaders and the world will know by December 6.
