Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech.
I said to Amit, “I am not participating in the annual function.”

Correct option is C

Option (c) is the correct answer.
To convert direct speech into indirect speech, we apply the following rules:
1. Reporting Verb: If the reporting verb (in this case, "said to") changes to "told" when followed by a person (Amit), as "said to" becomes "told" in indirect speech.
2. Pronoun Change: The pronoun "I" in the direct speech changes based on the subject in the reporting clause. Since "I" refers to the speaker, it remains as "I" in indirect speech.
3. Tense Change: Since the reporting verb ("said") is in the past tense, the present tense "am" in direct speech changes to the past tense "was" in indirect speech.
4. Removal of Quotation Marks: In indirect speech, we remove quotation marks and use "that" to connect the sentence.
Applying these rules:
Direct Speech: I said to Amit, “I am not participating in the annual function.”
Indirect Speech: I told Amit that I was not participating in the annual function.
Thus, the correct answer is:
(c) I told Amit that I was not participating in the annual function.