A remark made by a reporter from an Australian television news channel during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Melbourne has gone viral on social media, reviving a familiar political debate over the Prime Minister’s reluctance to hold press conferences.
In the Channel 7 News broadcast, which was recorded as Modi walked in the background during a public engagement, reporter Blake Johnson told viewers: “This is the closest you’ll get to Narendra Modi on his trip to Melbourne. He is known to avoid unscripted press conferences, preferring instead more stage appearances.”
On his X account, Johnson also reshared the clip, which was also reposted by Indian politicians and activists. They include main opposition Congress Party spokesman Aditya Garg and satirical protest group Sourav Das of the Janta Cockroach Party.
The reporter made the remarks during Modi’s two-day visit to Australia, where he held bilateral talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, addressed business leaders and interacted with members of the Indian community. No date has been set for a question-and-answer session with journalists during the visit.
Auditing access to media
The Australian Radio observation has renewed interest in an issue that has cropped up periodically during Modi’s visits abroad – as happened in Norway earlier this year – as well as in domestic politics.
Modi has not held a solo press conference since he became prime minister in 2014. Although he has given interviews to select media organizations and answered questions in a number of joint meetings with foreign leaders, he has generally not taken unscripted questions from the press.
A rare exception came during his state visit to the United States in June 2023, when he appeared alongside then-US President Joe Biden at the White House. Asked by a Wall Street Journal reporter about concerns about the treatment of Muslims and other minorities in India and the future of democratic values, Modi replied: “Democracy is in our DNA… There is absolutely no room for discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, religion or gender.”
Almost reviving Oslo
The issue of not holding a press conference resurfaced in May this year during Modi’s visit to Norway as well. After a joint appearance with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Jahr Sture, local journalist Helle Ling Svendsen addressed Modi as he was leaving the venue, and asked him: “Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?” Modi did not respond and walked away.
This moment was recorded on video and was widely circulated online.
The debate intensified later that day when Svendsen questioned Indian Ministry of External Affairs (West) Secretary Sibi George during a separate press conference.
In response to her statements on press freedom and human rights, George described India as the “mother of democracy” and defended the country’s credentials, arguing that the country had a “vibrant media”, an independent judiciary, and “very active” civil society organisations.
The exchange sparked a political dispute in the country. Leaders of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party said the diplomat responded effectively to what they described as a loaded question. However, opposition leaders said the controversy once again highlighted the prime minister’s reluctance to face unscripted questions from journalists.
The issue returned to public discussion last month when BJP MP Tejasvi Surya defended Modi’s communication style during an interaction at a university event.
Watch | BJP MP Tejasvi Surya was asked a “great question” about Prime Minister Modi. He explained why press conferences are “redundant”
According to videos of the event in Bengaluru, Surya said traditional press conferences are no longer the only means of public communication. Modi spoke directly to the people through election rallies, public meetings, interviews, Parliament, social media and his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme, he said, adding that the Prime Minister “answered every important issue before the people of India”. Suriya pointed out that in the era of digital communications, the importance of traditional press conferences has diminished.
