In Norway, a country that regularly tops the World Press Freedom Index, asking tough, unscripted questions may be the norm for journalists. <\/p>\n
But, for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Ministry of External Affairs entourage, it was a jarring reality check. While PM Modi quietly sidestepped the questions posed by an intrepid female Norwegian journalist, the composure of Indian foreign ministry officials cracked and they completely went off the diplomatic playbook, causing the interaction to go viral.<\/p>\n
Sharp exchange<\/p>\n
This is what happened. On Monday (May 18) night, at a press conference, diplomacy was thrown to the winds when a sharp exchange ensued between a ministry of external affairs (MEA) official and a female Norweigian journalist, Helle Lyng.<\/p>\n
At the press conference, Lyng, repeatedly interrupted Indian diplomats with questions on press freedom, minority rights and human rights in India. She even flounced out of the room at one point only to awkwardly wander back a few minutes later, when she realised the briefing was continuing without her. <\/p>\n
‘Ignorant NGOs’<\/p>\n
Lyng even went on to demand why India should even be “trusted\u201d, when it is so low in the press freedom ranking. That stung.<\/p>\n
Also read: An Indian PM hasn’t been to Norway in 43 years; so why now?<\/a><\/p>\n MEA Secretary (West) Sibi George lost his cool and went off the script. He snapped and told critics to stop getting their worldview from Google searches and sketchy pamphlets. He lambasted selective reports published by \u201cignorant NGOs\u201d for this lack of understanding of the country\u2019s scale and complexity.<\/p>\n \u201cThey read one or two news reports published by some godforsaken, ignorant NGOs and then come and ask questions,\u201d George fired back, completely dropping the usual diplomatic filter.<\/p>\n Scale of India<\/p>\n George then went on to boast how New Delhi alone has 200 24-hour news channels \u201cbreaking news\u201d in multiple languages every single evening. \u201cAt least 200 TV channels in Delhi alone, in English, Hindi and multiple languages. People have no understanding of the scale of India,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n