Responding to rumours around Prime Minister Narendra Modi being 'the biggest contender' for the Noble Peace Prize, Asle Toje, the Deputy Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said that it was fake news.
In an interview with ANI, Toje said, "A fake news tweet was sent out and I think we should treat it as all fake news. Let's not discuss it and let's not give it energy or oxygen. I categorically deny that I said anything resembling what was there in the tweet."
Earlier, a tweet was put out by a few media channels and a certain page called MeghUpdates, that claimed, "PM Narendra Modi is the biggest contender for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is continuously working for World peace and also has the ability to restore the World-Peace order. : Deputy leader of Nobel Prize Comittee."
However, Toje, who is on a visit to India to hold a discussion on geopolitics, earlier spoke very highly of the Indian Prime Minister for reminding Russian President Vladimir Putin that "this is not the era of war" during the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In a conversation with ANI, he said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that 'this is not the era of war' was an expression of hope. India has given signals that this is not how we should resolve world disputes today. PM Modi has the worth majority of the world's population behind him."
He further added, “Modi has been the Prime Minister for some years now and is one of the elder statesmen of this world. I think that credibility, and it is interesting to see that India has in record time gone from being a developing country to become one of the primary economies of this world. It is taken more seriously and when India speaks, it tends to be with a friendly voice and without threats.”
