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Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a press meet with Jonas Gahr Støre, his Norwegian counterpart, in Oslo on 18 May. It was part of Modi's two-day visit to the country. As the two leaders began to exit after shaking hands, Helle Lyng Svendsen, a journalist for Dagsavisen, a daily newspaper in Norway, asked Modi why he would not take any questions. She later uploaded the video of her asking the question on social media and wrote, “Norway has the number one spot on the World Press Freedom Index, India is at 157th, competing with Palestine, Emirates and Cuba.”
What followed was a barrage of trolling from right-wing handles in India, where she was labelled a spy. She spoke to Gurpreet Singh, an independent journalist based in Vancouver, who runs the Punjabi YouTube channel Navin Taazi.
What exactly happened when you tried to ask a question to Narendra Modi?
To me, it was just a regular day at work. I walked to the place where the press conference was and then, when they had both given their statements to the press—they gave their statements and it was a joint press session—that’s when I decided to try to ask the prime minister of India a question because I knew that he wouldn’t take any questions. So that’s why I also decided that I had to try. So, they shook their hands and then I raised my voice and asked the question I had in mind, and he continued towards the elevator without responding.
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