# Kiren Rijiju defends PM Modi’s decision to skip press conferences 2026-08-26T23:41:19+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Union minister Kiren Rijiju has defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision not to hold regular press conferences, calling them a formality. In an interview with India Today TV, Rijiju said Modi prefers direct engagement with people through interviews and interactions with scientists, students, athletes and farmers. He alleged that organised media campaigns had been run against Modi, which made press conferences unappealing. Rijiju argued that no previous prime minister had given as many interviews as Modi. He cited the PM's annual conversations with students during exam season and his meetings with ISRO scientists and Olympic athletes as examples of meaningful outreach. Rijiju also said Modi is a better listener than any other leader. The remarks come amid a long-running debate over Modi's media engagement strategy. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The question of whether a prime minister should hold regular press conferences is not settled by any rule. No constitutional or statutory provision requires it. India has no equivalent of the US presidential press conference tradition. Past prime ministers such as Manmohan Singh held sporadic pressers while Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi held very few. What matters more is whether the government's decisions and responses are accessible through other channels. The next test of that accessibility will come during the monsoon session of Parliament, where opposition leaders can question the government directly. If the session is disrupted or adjourned without debate, that vacuum will sharpen the criticism regardless of how many interviews the PM gives. ## Coverage - indiatoday.in Leads with Rijiju's defence and carries his claims without counterpoint or challenge This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: India Today TV, Kiren Rijiju, Narendra Modi, press conference Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/kiren-rijiju-defends-pm-modis-decision-to-skip-press-conferences/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/kiren-rijiju-defends-pm-modis-decision-to-skip-press-conferences/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/