Helle Lyng Svendsen, a Norwegian journalist at Dagsavisen, had no idea that a single question directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi would ignite a storm in India. But she asked anyway: “Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?”
Later, the Indian embassy in Norway personally tagged her on X, inviting her to a press conference hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). She showed up and didn’t hold back. She pressed MEA officials on human rights violations in India and on when Modi intended to face critical questions from the Indian press. MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George’s answers left her unsatisfied, and though she pushed back directly, she got nowhere.
