Congress president Rahul Gandhi, while speaking to a group of journalists in London on Sunday, attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for never holding a press meet to answer direct questions from journalists.
At the beginning of the press conference, Rahul asked the interviewer if he has ever invited PM Modi to such an open conversation. The interviewer denied and said, “I don’t think PM Modi accepts invitations from associations like us.”
To this, Rahul said, “Exactly. He won’t be able to sit here. He won’t be able to answer your questions. I’m sitting here telling you to throw whatever questions you want. I might make mistakes. I might go wrong. I am not perfect. But I at least have the guts to sit here.”
He continued, “I would be very happy to have a conversation like this with the prime minister sitting here, in front of you (media) discussing corruption, Rafale deal, agriculture, foreign policy. But he won’t do it.”
Earlier this year, PM Modi was called out for giving a scripted interview at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, when his English translator read out facts and figures which weren’t a part of Modi’s actual answer.
Many a times, journalists who sought PM Modi’s interviews were asked to email questions before the interview for approval. In four years of being elected to the office, the prime minister has not held a single open press conference.