PM Modi's ‘No Press Conference’ Rule Has Haunted Him Down Under
New Delhi: At the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA’s) briefing in New Zealand, a local journalist asked why prime minister Narendra Modi had not addressed a press conference during the visit.
MEA official Rudendra Tandon said it was not for him to answer, yet ended up wading into the subject, defending Modi’s preferred style of political communication. Calling him “a quintessential Indian politician”, Tandon said Modi preferred direct communication with the electorate rather than speaking “through intermediaries”.
“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 said.
An Australian journalist reporting on Modi’s visit said on live 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.”
India is ranked 157 of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index and Narendra Modi has yet to address a single press conference in India since assuming office as prime minister over 12 years ago.
The exchange echoed similar questions during Modi’s Europe tour earlier this year. Journalists in Norway and the Netherlands publicly questioned why the Indian prime minister did not take unscripted questions alongside his counterparts. The Norwegian journalist, Helle Lyng, who got trolled by Modi government supporters angry at her asking questions on behalf of a nation which tops the World Press Freedom Index also waded in and saw it as a sign of global attention going to how Modi did not hold press conferences.
“It is nice to see that other countries are continuing the discussion about declining press freedom in India. That was a part of my goal when I decided to do over 30 interviews with press from all around the world after the «Norway incident». Reporters working from countries such as NZ and Norway have an extra responsibility when state leaders visit. Even small countries can contribute and make a difference. I am glad some Indians found it valuable. That’s what made it important”, she remarked.
It is nice to see that other countries are continuing the discussion about declining press freedom in India.
That was a part of my goal when I decided to do over 30 interviews with press from all around the world after the «Norway incident».
Reporters working from countries… https://t.co/tfBeW4Lpe7
— Helle Lyng (@HelleLyngSvends) July 11, 2026
Lyng asked, “Does this mean the PM usually meet people in town hall settings to answer questions about their daily life problems then? I have not seen him engage directly with the Cockroach Junta Party, which is a grassroot movement. Correct me if I am wrong.”
The MEA has again come under fire, not to the extent it did when MEA official, Sibi George launched o much-memed exposition of Indian culture, zero and Yoga in the press conference, but there is anger now on if India’s “rural folk” don’t want accountability and if foreign service officials should make remarks of this nature.
Pawan Khera of the opposition Congress party is reported to have said that "bureaucrats serve the government of the day", but argued that the diplomat's explanation was "not democratically defensible".
Politics via public meetings, a la Howdy Modi, highlights Australian media
Sky News, Australia attacked the large diaspora meet held by Narendra Modi in Melbourne at the Marble Stadium in the presence of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Premier of Victoria, Jacinta Allan, as “this is not diplomacy, this is politics, and at the cost of the Australian tax payer”. The anchor Danica De Georgio, taunted Albanese for being “all over Modi like a rash.”
The network attacked the meeting as one done to get the Centre-Left ruling party, closer to the Indian diaspora, “85% of whom” per the anchor, vote for the ruling party. It castigated Modi for welcoming the Australians in their home country and Albanese for allowing himself to be treated to a show of culture of the place of origin of Australian-Indian origin citizens. Albanese, incidentally was roundly mocked and questioned when he went around the Narendra Modi stadium with Modi on his trip to India.
The 'Howdy Modi' event at Houston in 2019, when Modi publicly called for ‘Ab ki baar, Trump sarkar (this time, a Trump government)’ has been severely criticised for diving into American politics. Trump lost that election and Joe Biden was elected a few weeks after Modi gave that call. After numerous Trumpian insults to India in his second term, it is not only Modi’s silence that has been questioned, but also the fact that campaigning for Trump did not lead to any gains for India.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate called the Australian episode a "joke on the Indian media"
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