Fact Check: Deputy leader of Nobel Prize Committee denies claim on Modi being top contender of Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the world. It recognizes people who made significant contributions to promoting peace and resolving conflicts. Many have recommended Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name for the Nobel Peace Prize several times.

Recently, several social media handles along with a number of media outlets published reports claiming that the deputy leader of the Nobel Prize Committee announced that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the biggest contender for the Nobel Peace Prize. And, that he is continuously working for world peace and also has the ability to restore the world peace order.

Fact check:

The claim is false.

Dr. Asle Toje, co-president of IFF and Norwegian Nobel Committee participated in a roundtable discussion titled “Alternative development Model and Peace” on March 14, 2023. This discussion was organized by India Centre Foundation.

According to tatsatchronicle.com, Dr. Toje emphasized adopting the new model of socioeconomic growth prioritizing peace. He was optimistic that dialogues as such will be inspirations for many to bring in a positive change in the society and foster sustainable growth.

In his speech, Toje mentioned that being a member of the Norwegian Nobel Committee is an honour and it is a tough job. He said that coming to India has been a learning experience for him and that the country is becoming more important in world politics.

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In an interview given to ABP news, he stated that India is sure to become a superpower and that he follows PM Modi. When asked if PM Modi is going to get the Nobel peace prize, he answered that he wants every leader of the world to work for peace. Powerful leaders like Modi have a lot of opportunities and the ability to do so.

Talking to ANI, Dr. Toje praises PM Modi's statement "This is not the era of war".

In any of these interviews, we did not find him making any statement about PM Modi being a top contender for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In a statement given by him to ANI, he categorically denied giving any statement. Asle Toje refuted all the claims by saying "I am the deputy leader of the Nobel committee. A fake news tweet was sent out. And I think we should treat it as all fake news. It is fake! Let us not discuss it. Let us not give it energy or oxygen. I categorically deny that I said anything resembling what was in that tweet."

Hence, the claim that Dr. Asle Toje mentioned that Indian PM Modi is the top contender for Nobel Peace Prize is false. He made no such statement.