After Netherlands, MEA faces questions over PM’s decision not to hold press conference in Norway

MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George defends policy, says India’s constitution guarantees press freedoms, democracy and human rights

Updated – May 19, 2026 11:41 am IST – OSLO.

Suhasini Haidar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a press conference in Oslo, on Monday May 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

The Ministry of External Affairs defended India’s record on democracy on Monday (May 18 2026), for the second time during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s European tour, over the PM’s decision not to take questions from the press.

During the joint press appearance with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Mr. Modi was confronted by a Norwegian journalist who stood up and asked him to respond to media questions, as was the norm in the European country. Later in the day, after the same journalist accosted the Ministry of External Affairs on the issue as well as human rights during a briefing, a senior MEA official said that India is a “civilizational country”.

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“We hear a lot of people asking why this, why that, but let me tell you this. We are one sixth of the total population of the world, but not one sixth of the problems of the world,” said Secretary (West) Sibi George. “We have a constitution which guarantees the fundamental rights of the people. We have equal rights for the women of our country, which is very important,” he added, visibly angry by the journalist’s tone of questioning, and repeated interruptions.  

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Earlier in the day, the journalist, Helle Lyng Svends, a correspondent for the Dagsavisen, stood up after the press statements made by PM Modi and PM Store at the Government Guest House in Oslo. “Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take questions from the freest press in the world,” Ms. Svends said, then following him out of the room, adding “Do you deserve the trust of our….[government]?

Ms. Svends said that she was upset that neither Prime Ministers had taken questions from the media, as was the norm in Norway. Shortly after, PM Store returned to the room after seeing off PM Modi, and spoke to Norwegian journalists. After a business event at the city hall on Monday (May 18) evening, Mr. Store also met with Indian journalists, including from The Hindu and took their questions.

The slow erosion of press freedoms

This is the second time on the tour that the government has faced questions over PM Modi’s decision not to take questions live after press statements with foreign leaders. Although PM Modi had accepted joining press conferences in the past, including with U.S. President Joseph Biden in 2023 and U.S. President Donald Trump in 2025 in Washington, these have been the exceptions rather than the norm.

During the PM’s visit to the Netherlands on Saturday (May 17), Dutch journalists had similarly raised objections to the practice of no questions with Mr. George during a press briefing. “We face these kind of questions basically because of the lack of understanding of the person who asks the question,” Mr. George had replied, citing India’s historic democratic freedoms and human rights record.

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When asked at the MEA briefing in the evening whether the government had been asked by host leaders to address media questions, and whether the government was reconsidering its policy, Mr. George further said that as the MEA Secretary in charge of the visit it was his responsibility to take to address the media and take questions.

“So I have been doing that, and I will continue to do that,” he replied. He later told The Hindu “categorically” that no host government had requested PM Modi to answer questions from the press.

#WATCH | Oslo, Norway | MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George responds to question by reporters from Norway – “Why should we trust you?” ” Will the PM take critical questions from the Indian Press?” pic.twitter.com/iaEGIlVG08

— ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2026

Published – May 19, 2026 10:35 am IST