On Thursday, when US President Donald Trump announced his decision to exit the Paris climate change accord and ranted against India and China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was asked a question at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, whether he supported or opposed Trump’s action. Modi gave a classic reply.

He said, he would rather take the side of the future generation. Modi quoted a verse from the Vedas to say that ‘exploiting nature was a crime, but milking of nature was a right of mankind’.

Trump is trying hard to prove that he is fighting for the interests of Americans, and has exited the Paris accord to provide more jobs to his countrymen. He even warned that 2.7 million Americans may lose their jobs by 2020, and he would not allow this to happen.

But Modi took a wider view, and said he was more interested about the future generation. This shows the basic difference in the thought processes of Modi and Trump.

Moreover, on Friday, Modi was at his best while selling the dream of a new India to investors and global businessmen who had gathered in St. Petersburg. His sales pitch was really commendable, and India should hope more foreign investments would flow in.