Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appearance in Norway and the lack of space for media questions from the press sparked a wave of reactions, including a viral intervention by a Norwegian journalist, the Indian Foreign Ministry’s response, and criticism from opposition leader Rahul Gandhi.
Helle Ling, a journalist who writes for Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen, shared a video on her handle X on Monday showing Prime Minister Modi exiting the venue of the joint press statement with his Norwegian counterpart.
“India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not answer my question. I did not expect him to do that,” she said in the post, sharing the video in which a woman can be heard saying out loud: “Why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?”
She also later attended the External Affairs Ministry’s briefing on Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Norway later, where she pressed External Affairs Ministry officials about the Prime Minister not taking questions.
She asked: “Why should we trust you? Can you promise that you will stop the human rights violations taking place in your country?”
While the journalist was looking for a “direct answer”, MEA’s Sibi George gave a detailed response for several minutes on India’s history and constitution, also saying: “We hear a lot of people asking ‘why this, why this’, but let me tell you this: We are one-sixth of the world’s total population, but we are not one-sixth of the world’s problems. We have a constitution that guarantees the basic rights of the people.”
“If anyone’s rights are violated, they have the right to go to court,” Sebi George said. “We are proud to be a democratic country.”
Criticisms of Rahul Gandhi, an invited interview from a Norwegian magazine
Returning to India, Member of Parliament and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi criticized what happened in Norway, saying: “When there is nothing to hide, there is nothing to fear.”
“What happens to India’s image when the world sees a threatening Prime Minister panicking and dodging some questions?” Gandhi said in X.
In parallel, the Norwegian journalist responded to a report that claimed that she had asked Rahul Gandhi to conduct a phone interview.
“I’m ready!” she wrote on X while resharing a post carrying the report.
Gandhi had not yet responded to her request, as of 3:30 pm EST, on May 19.
Prime Minister Modi is on a six-day, five-nation tour and arrived in Oslo, Norway, on Monday to attend the third India-North Summit and hold key bilateral meetings with Nordic leaders. He arrived in Oslo after visiting the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands and Sweden and was scheduled to head to Italy on May 19.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also shared a picture of Prime Minister Modi with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten and asked what the Indian Prime Minister is explaining to his Dutch counterpart. “What is the fake gyaan given by the self-proclaimed Vishwaguru but completely exposed to the Dutch Prime Minister who actually summoned him?” Ramesh said in a post on X.
Countering the Congress’ remarks, Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s IT cell, defended PM Modi by saying on Tuesday that the Norwegian Prime Minister too did not take any questions at the joint press conference of the two leaders.
“But the crazy Congress ecosystem under Rahul Gandhi is flaunting the incoherent statements made by the crooked journalist,” the BJP’s IT wing in-charge said. One wonders whether the Congress leadership, like the journalist in question, is in the grip of those who do not want to see a strong and powerful India, as he said on the X programme.
Laing responded by saying that the Norwegian Prime Minister took questions in separate interactions.
Laing’s first post about PM Modi not taking questions was also followed by a series of posts in one of which she clarified that she was “not a spy”.
“I never thought I would have to write this, but I am not a foreign spy of any kind, sent by any foreign government. My job is journalism, especially in Norway now,” she said.
In a separate post, Ling said the press is “confrontational at times.”
“We are seeking answers,” she said. “If anyone I interview, especially one with authority, does not answer what I ask, I will try to interrupt and get a more focused response. This is my job and my duty. I want answers, not just talking points.”
