New Delhi, 11 July– Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s long-standing refusal to face unscripted conferences from the press has once again created an awkward situation for India drawing renewed international attention during his recent visit to Australia and the ongoing one in New Zealand.
A question why Modi does not hold press conferences during an interaction with Indian diplomats by a New Zealand journalist, prompted an Indian diplomat Rudendra Tandon to come forward to defend the Prime Minister’s style of political communication.
In the repeat of the incident in Norway where a journalist publicly asked why the leader of the world’s largest democracy does not take unscripted questions from the press, Indian diplomats were confronted with the same question in Auckland, New Zealand.
“It’s not appropriate for me to question the PM’s political method as I’m a civil servant,” Rudrendra Tandon, secretary (East) in the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said in reply, smiling. “He is a very successful politician.”
He then went on to “explain the context” to New Zealand reporters, claiming that PM Modi prefers direct contact with his electorate like most “quintessential Indian politicians”.
“You must remember that the Indian electorate are predominantly rural folk who want direct contact. They don’t like being spoken down to, they don’t like being spoken to through intermediaries,” the diplomat claimed.
“Mr Modi has perfected the art of direct contact with his electorate and seems to be doing a rather good job,” he added, pointing out that Modi is one of the longest-serving prime ministers of India.
Days earlier, an Australian journalist reporting on Modi’s visit said on TV: “This is about as close as we will get to Narendra Modi on his trip with [Australian PM] Albanese. He [Modi] famously avoids unscripted news conferences, preferring more staged-managed appearances instead.”
The episode has reignited criticism at home. Several social media users said it was “mind-boggling” that Modi continued to hail India as the world’s largest democracy while not holding a single unscripted press conference during his three terms in office, either in India or abroad.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate called the Australian episode a “joke on the Indian media”, saying it was only “a matter of time” before supporters of the prime minister turned their attention to discrediting the Australian journalist. She alleged that instead of demanding answers from Modi, sections of the Indian media had been reduced to amplifying his “monologues”.
Congress leader Pawan Khera said it was understandable that “bureaucrats serve the government of the day”, but argued that the diplomat’s explanation was “not democratically defensible”.
During Modi’s visit to Norway last month, Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng had shouted from the press gallery: “Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?”
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Helle had later justified her call-out to PM Modi: “Norway has the number one spot on the World Press Freedom Index, India is at 157th, competing with Palestine, Emirates & Cuba. It is our job to question the powers we cooperate with.”
What followed was a strong pushback from Indian diplomats, most notably MEA secretary Sibi George. Lyng also faced online harassment, including threats and a temporary social media suspension.
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