Now Reading: Kiren Rijiju defends PM Modi’s decision to skip press conferences
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Kiren Rijiju defends PM Modi’s decision to skip press conferences
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…
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.
Source: indiatoday.in
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
