Prime Minister Narendra Modi will join US President Joe Biden for an interaction with the press where he will also take “limited questions” from the press, news agency Reuters reported, citing a White House official.
PM Modi is currently in Washington DC on a state visit to the US. He is scheduled to attend a state dinner and address the US Congress later today.
PM Modi US Visit: Catch all Live Updates here
According to the Reuters report, President Biden and visiting PM Modi will deliver remarks and take questions from journalists on Thursday, an event a senior White House official termed a “big deal”.
The development assumes significance as the Prime Minister has often faced criticism from the Opposition back home for not addressing a single press conference in his nine-year tenure. PM Modi’s interactions with the media have been limited to occasional interviews. In May 2019, PM Modi attended a press conference but refused to take questions.
PM Modi press conference a big deal: White House
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the White House understands the press conference is a “big deal”, Reuters reported.
“We are just grateful that Prime Minister Modi is participating in a press event at the end of the visit,” Kirby said. “We think that’s important and we’re glad he thinks that’s important too.”
Also Read: ‘World confident that India’s topmost priority is peace’: PM Modi ahead of US visit
As per the agency, the format of the press conference will include one question from the U.S. press and one from an Indian journalist, Kirby said.
White House press conferences with other world leaders have been tightly controlled, with U.S. officials designating reporters beforehand from the American and foreign media for Biden and his guest to call upon, and a very limited number of questions.
The development comes amid pressure on Biden by his fellow Democrats to raise the issue of human rights with PM Modi, citing concerns about “religious intolerance, press freedoms, internet access and the targeting of civil society groups” under the Bharatiya Janata Party rule.
Modi has been to the United States five times since becoming prime minister in 2014, but the trip will be his first with the full diplomatic status of a state visit.
(With inputs from Reuters)
