“Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?” Journalist Helle Skjervold, who made headlines by asking this question to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Norway, is now facing several questions herself, with the biggest one being whether she did it just to become famous. In fact, in interviews given to NDTV and several other news channels, Helle has now broken her silence on these questions.
In her conversation with NDTV, she was questioned on her intentions, her understanding of India, press freedom, and several issues including Rahul Gandhi. However, during this, Helle said a few things that were quite surprising. Journalist Helle stated that she did not know if she would ever get another opportunity to ask Prime Minister Modi a question in the future. Therefore, she thought it appropriate to ask the question right at that moment. When asked if she knew whether Prime Minister Modi would take her question, the journalist responded by asking, what is democracy?
Your Prime Minister talks about being the world’s largest democracy. But what good is a democracy if there is no scope to ask questions to the most powerful person in your country? Helle said she knew beforehand that he would not take her question, and that is exactly what makes her job even more important, because they cannot let a foreign leader come there and dictate the definition of democracy. However, when the Norwegian journalist Helle Skjervold was asked if she deliberately tried to ask such a question to go viral, she stated that she is a journalist and her job is to ask questions, and she was simply doing her job, adding that it is her responsibility to raise questions during a leader’s foreign visit. She also admitted that she had not raised this issue before the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs because she thought it best to ask the question on the spot. Meanwhile, in a conversation with the BBC, Helle said that when a powerful country comes to their small nation and wants to strengthen relations, it is her responsibility to ask questions. Following the viral video, a prestigious newspaper in Norway depicted Prime Minister Modi as a snake charmer. When the journalist was questioned about this, she did not give a clear reaction and said that she had not read the full article, so she could not comment on it. However, Helle also mentioned that if a newspaper or a cartoon hurts anyone, it is important to have a discussion about it. The Norwegian journalist also stated that she has contacted Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. It is her wish to interview Rahul Gandhi.
Helle says that if given the opportunity, she will definitely question Rahul Gandhi on issues of press freedom and human rights in India. Furthermore, she was questioned regarding her understanding of India. When asked how much she had studied Indian democracy and politics, instead of giving a strong response, she started talking about Indian food and yoga. She admitted that she has read about India through newspapers and reports, but it is not her main beat. She still has a lot to learn. Additionally, Helle was questioned about Norway’s press freedom ranking being number one while India stands at 157.
When asked how countries like Qatar and Jordan are ranked above India in this index, she stated that she wants to understand this issue further. She also accepted that questions can still be raised about the rankings of certain countries. For context, on Monday, a Norwegian journalist, Helle Skjervold, could be heard saying, “Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you answer questions from the world’s freest press?” After this, the video went viral, bringing Norwegian journalist Helle into the spotlight. That is all for this video for now, please allow us to take your leave. Namaskar.
