Overview
- The Editors Guild of India issued a formal statement on Sunday, May 24, 2026, calling the sharp exchanges between Indian officials and foreign journalists during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to Norway and the Netherlands “embarrassing.”
- The confrontations began after Modi declined to take questions following joint press briefings, a move that Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng publicly questioned and that prompted detailed responses from Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (West) Sibi George.
- The Guild reiterated that Modi has not held an open press conference since 2014 and said that this lack of direct media engagement limits public scrutiny of the prime minister.
- The statement contrasted Norway and the Netherlands — ranked first and second on the World Press Freedom Index — with India’s ranking of 157 out of 180, saying the gap highlights an increasingly constrained space for the media.
- Signed by EGI office‑bearers Sanjay Kapoor, Raghavan Srinivasan and Teresa Rehman, the statement warned that growing official intolerance to questioning at central and state levels could erode democratic checks and harm society and the economy.