Helle Lyng
Norwegian journalist, Helle Lyng on Wednesday, May 20, said that her Instagram account has been suspended. The suspension comes a day after she questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a press conference, which the PM ignored.
Lyng took to X and said that the suspension of the social media account is a little prize she paid for press freedom, “Throughout all day I have struggled to log onto my Instagram account. Now I have been suspended. It is a small prize to pay for press freedom, but I’ve never experienced it before.”
The journalist gained traction after confronting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on human rights violation in India during the latter’s visit to Oslo on May 18 as part of his Europe tour.
Lyng also questioned the Ministry of External Affairs as to why Modi doesn’t hold press conferences at home or abroad.
In response Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (West) Sibi George, gave the Norwegian journalist a long rhetorical answer, talking about India’s 5,000 year ancient civilisation and calling India the world’s largest democracy. He also mentioned AI summits, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Constitution and yoga. But he had no mention of the rising hate crimes against minorities or why Modi does not address the press even after 15 years in office.
“We have a Constitution which guarantees the rights of the people, fundamental rights of the people. We have equal rights for the women of our country, which is very important,” was Sibi George’s response.
“In 1947, we gave the freedom to vote to our women. In many countries, I know, the voting right for women came several decades after India gave that freedom,” he added. When Lyng tried to repeat her original question, the interaction quickly escalated. “Please do not interrupt me. This is my press conference,” he snapped back.
Lyng then seemingly left the press briefing, but she later said that she had gone out to get water. George went on to highlight India’s recent Assembly elections, praising the massive voter turnout as proof of the country’s vibrant democratic process and reiterating that India remains the world’s largest democracy.
“We are one-sixth of the world’s total population, but not one-sixth of the world’s problems; we have a Constitution that guarantees fundamental rights of the people,” he said. Lastly, he did mention Lyng’s question on human rights violations, saying, “If anyone whose rights are violated, they have the right to go to the courts.”
However, by this time, George seems to lose his cool altogether and started blaming independent media that it is because of them, many outside India have no idea what the country stands for.
“People have no understanding. They read one or two news reports published by some god-forsaken ignorant NGOs and then come and ask questions,” he said. Lyng had previously shared another video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi standing by his counterpart, Jonas Gahr Støre. “Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?” called out Lyng.
Modi calmly walked out of the room; her question was unanswered. Later, she shared her experience on X, saying she did not expect the walk-out.
Lyng was unsurprised. “Prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, would not take my question, I was not expecting him to,” she wrote on X. “Norway has the number one spot on the World Press Freedom Index, India is at 157th, competing with Palestine, Emirates & Cuba. It is our job to question the powers we cooperate with.”
This post was last modified on May 20, 2026 9:43 am