'Neither invited to selection panel meet nor informed of decision'

NEW DELHI :After the Congress questioned the selection of Gita Press for the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021, its leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is a member of the selection panel, said he was neither invited to its meeting nor informed about the decision.

"I was not even told about the meeting or the decision of giving the award. I have never been invited to any meeting. I only came to learn from the newspapers," he said when asked whether he was aware of the decision taken by the panel.

Chowdhury, who is the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, the second largest party in the lower house of Parliament, said, "Someone has been awarded and I got the news from the media." Asked whether he would raise the issue with the government for not inviting him, he replied in the negative.

"Why should I write to the government," he said.

According to the Code of Procedure for the Gandhi Peace Prize, which was instituted by the central government in 1995, the awardee is selected by a five-member jury.

While the jury is chaired by the prime minister, its other members are the Chief Justice of India, the Leader of Opposition or the leader of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha (in this case Chowdhury), and two "eminent persons".