The episode began on Monday, Oslo time, in a joint press statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Støre, in the Norwegian capital.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Norway, part of a five-nation tour, created a flashpoint when a Norwegian journalist’s attempt to ask him a question escalated from the media rooms to go viral online. A tense press conference ensued, with a social media troll battle in parallel, as well as a political war of words in India.
A Norwegian journalist calls out Prime Minister Modi
The episode started on Monday, Oslo time, at exactly 1:00 PM Joint press statement by Prime Minister Modi and his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Sture in the Norwegian capital. As the two leaders were leaving the venue – having been briefed in a way that did not include a question-and-answer session – a voice rang out across the room: “Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?”
The sound belongs to Hailey Ling, a journalist for a local newspaper DagsavisenHe was part of the media delegation that covered the visit.
Neither leader broke stride or responded as they walked out. She followed them to the elevator, until the doors closed.
Ling had a camera running, and later posted the video to Channel
She continued by saying: “Norway ranks first on the World Press Freedom Index, and India ranks 157th, competing with Palestine, the Emirates, and Cuba. Our mission is to question the forces with which we cooperate.”
MEA Briefing: “Why should we trust you?” Meets a history lesson
In response to Lyng X’s post, the Indian Embassy in Norway invited her to attend a press conference later that evening. “You are welcome to come and ask your questions,” she wrote.
The press conference, held late Monday night Oslo time, saw Ling press the Indian officials directly across the room, which has now become a second arena for the same argument. Her questions were: “Why should we trust you?” and “Can you promise that you will stop the human rights violations that are happening in your country?” These questions were not detailed further.
She also wondered whether Prime Minister Modi “will start taking critical questions from the Indian press.”
Secretary, Middle East Aviation (West) Sippy George responded at length. He said: “What is the state? The state today consists of four elements.”
He said in a response that took several minutes: “First, the population, second, the government, third, sovereignty, and fourth, the land. We are proud to be a 5,000-year-old civilized country.”
He focused on India’s Covid response as a sign of global trustworthiness. He said: “We did not hide in a cave, and we did not say that we would not save the world. We went out to provide a helping hand to the world,” noting that India had provided vaccines to about 100 countries.
He also cited India’s contributions to human civilisation, counting the number zero, chess and yoga, and its diplomatic record as evidence. George stated that India hosted the G20 summit in 2023, facilitating full membership of the African Union in the G20; It organized Voice of the Global South conferences that brought together 125 countries.
Second time on this tour
This wasn’t the first time on this tour. The MEA had already faced questions about Prime Minister Modi not taking questions at press conferences, and about the human rights situation in India, during the Dutch leg of the flight. There, George used many of the same arguments. Norway became the second round.
In Oslo, on the issue of human rights, George cited India’s constitutional framework and noted that the recent elections witnessed the participation of nearly one billion voters and a peaceful transfer of power. “We have a constitution that guarantees the basic rights of the people. We have equal rights for women in our country. In 1947 we gave the freedom to vote to our women.”
He added: “If anyone’s rights are violated, they have the right to go to court. We are proud to be a democratic country.”
Then George backed away from the premise of the questions. “People have no understanding of the size of India,” he said. “They read one or two news reports published by some ignorant and concerned NGOs, and then they come and ask questions.” He also cited India’s TV ecosystem, saying there are around 200 TV channels in Delhi alone across languages.
The exchange became visibly tense as it continued. As Ling tried to intervene and press for more specific answers, a visibly angry George said: “Please don’t interrupt me,” and then, “If you ask a question, don’t ask me to answer in a certain way. That’s my prerogative.”
Laing later wrote on X that she tried several times to make it “specific.”
“A Cup of Water” refutes withdrawal claims
A subplot ran on X about whether Lyng walked out of the MEA conference while George was still in the middle of answering. George himself thought at one point during the press conference that she had withdrawn. On X, when a user accused her of leaving without hearing back, Ling’s response was: “I just need a glass of water.”
She explained in other posts: “We were talking for a while and he did not address human rights violations, even though I asked several times to be more specific.”
In response to another user’s comment that MEA “won this round” and that the withdrawal was “not an act of journalism but an angry activism”, Ling replied: “I was just getting water and came back.”
“Journalism is confrontational sometimes,” she wrote in a separate post. “We seek answers. If anyone I interview, especially an authority, doesn’t answer what I ask, I will try to interrupt and get a more focused response. This is my job and my duty.”
The spread of the original video also brought a wave of online abuse and accusations against Lyng. She responded with a post saying: “I am not a foreign spy of any kind, sent by any foreign government… My work is journalism, primarily in Norway now.”
On Tuesday evening, she marked her presence at a joint appearance by the leaders after the India-North summit, writing to
Rahul Gandhi mocks, BJP reacts
The episode sparked a swift reaction from Congress member and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Channel X.
“When there is nothing to hide, there is nothing to fear. What happens to India’s image when the world sees a prime minister panicking and dodging some questions?” he said, referring to the original video of Ling asking a question to Prime Minister Modi.
In a surprise development, Laing responded to a report that she had asked Gandhi for a phone interview, saying: “I’m ready!”
Gandhi did not respond to the request until Monday evening.
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya defended PM Modi by saying that the Norwegian PM also did not take questions at the joint press conference. “He did, but only in front of the Norwegian press at first. He met the Indian press later that day,” Laing responded.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also joined in, posting a picture of PM Modi with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten and questioning the “false things” the Prime Minister was giving to his counterpart, alluding to Jetten raising concerns about India on a separate occasion.
The Congress party once again pointed out that Prime Minister Modi has not given a press conference during his 12-year tenure as Prime Minister so far.
Prime Minister Modi left Oslo for Italy on May 19 Completing the final stage of his tour, which included five countries.
Several major agreements were signed during the tour, and high honors were received by at least two countries.
Arish Chhabra is an associate editor on the Hindustan Times online team, where he writes news reports and explanatory features, as well as overseeing the site’s coverage. His career spans nearly two decades across India’s most respected newsrooms in print, digital and broadcast. He has reported, written, and edited across formats—from breaking news and live election coverage, to analytical long-reads and cultural commentary—building a body of work that reflects editorial rigor and a deep curiosity about the community for which he writes. Areesh studied English Literature, Sociology and History along with Journalism at Punjab University in Chandigarh, and began his career in that city, eventually moving to Delhi. He is also the author of Little Big City: What Life is Like from Chandigarh, a collection of critical essays originally published as a weekly column in the Hindustan Times, which examines the culture and politics of a city that is much more than just its famous architecture – and in doing so, holds up a mirror to modern India. During his stints at BBC, The Indian Express, NDTV and Jagran New Media, he has worked across formats and languages; Mainly English, as well as Hindi and Punjabi. He was part of the crack team for the BBC Explainer project which was replicated around the world by the broadcaster. At Jagran, he developed editorial guides and trained journalists on integrity and quality content. He has also worked at the intersection of journalism and education. At the Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad, he developed a website to streamline academic research in management. At Bennett University’s Times School of Media in Noida, he taught students the craft of digital journalism: from newsgathering and writing to social media strategy and video storytelling. Having moved from small town to larger town to megalopolis for education and work, his intellectual passions lie at the intersection of society, politics, and popular culture—a perspective that guides his writing and worldview. When he’s not working, he’s constantly reading long-form journalism or watching cerebral content, sometimes both at the same time.Read more
