Bombay Stock Exchange chief Ashish Chauhan on Friday hailed the Prime Minister for successfully executing the world's largest free food programme during the COVID-19 pandemic, and questioned if the Nobel Peace Prize Committee will "seriously" look into the role of Narendra Modi and the Centre for the award.
The Nobel Peace Prize 2020 was awarded to United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) for offering food to 11.5 crore people which is only around 14 percent of India's 80 crore people who were provided with free rations during the pandemic, Chauhan said in Kolkata.
According to the UN website, the WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2020 after it assisted 97 million (9.7 crore) people in 88 countries, who are victims of acute food insecurity and hunger in the previous year.
"We have performed very well in managing COVID despite our per capita earning being 10-30 times lower than that of developed nations. We should be proud," the BSE MD and CEO said while delivering his speech at the convocation of IIM-Calcutta.
The free programme of India during COVID offered free food for two years to 80 crore poor people. The number is higher than the population of many countries put together. "Will the Nobel Prize Committee look seriously into Modi's role in the free food programme remains to be seen," he said.
The IIM-C alumni said also praised all politicians, social workers, and doctors for their hard work to help India overcome the pandemic woes.
"We blame politicians but this time they stood up to the expectations though all of us faced hardships," said the BSE head who will complete his second term in November.
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