Oslo : President Pranab Mukherjee praised the Nobel committee for choosing India’s Kailash Satyarthi for this year’s Peace Prize but declined to comment if the joint conferment of the award on Pakistan’s Malala Yousufzai was possibly intended to help find a solution to the long-lasting tension between the two countries.
According to Norway’s NTB news agency, the Indian president, during an interaction with the media here, was asked about his reaction to this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winners – Satyarthi and Yousufzai.
President Mukherjee said: “I congratulate the Nobel Committee for choosing these winners, Kailash Satyarthi from India and Malala from Pakistan, to receive this year’s peace prize.”
“Satyarthi has for a long time been an acknowledged social activist and has received a lot of international prizes. Receiving the Nobel Prize is however different. It is great. We appreciate that the Nobel committee chose him.”
However, Mukherjee declined to answer questions on the awarding of the Peace Prize to India and Pakistan, reported NTB.
“This conflict (India-Pakistan) is a completely different issue. According to the constitution of India, the president cannot make any political statements. This is an issue for the politicians to solve,” Mukherjee told NTB.