Indian officials followed the "standard practice" of checking the modalities for public appearances by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his meeting with U.S.
President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France earlier this year, official sources said on Monday (August 24, 2026), hours after U.S.
Ambassador Sergio Gor claimed that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had asked for the press event not to feature questions.
Mr.
Gor went on to say that Mr.
Trump subsequently forgot about the purported request and went on to answer questions from journalists for 45 minutes.
White House journalists press U.S. officials on lack of access during Modi-Biden bilateral and G-20 “Discussions regarding arrangements for public appearances of leaders are normal practice ahead of any VVIP visit.
In this regard, the Indian side communicated its standard practice for such visits,” a source said, referring to the interaction between Mr.
Modi and Mr.
Trump in Evian, France, on June 17, 2026.
Addressing a media conclave on Sunday (August 23), Mr.
Gor had said that the MEA had an “ask” regarding making the meeting between the two leaders free of questions from the press.
“We were behind the scenes, behind the stage, and at one point, it was just the President and I, and he asked me what the Indians were going to raise.
We went over some topics,” said Mr.
Gor.
Modi broke democratic tradition of asking, answering questions: Congress According to Mr.
Gor, Mr.
Trump also wanted to know if the Indian delegation had any specific requests regarding the conduct of the event and he was told that the Indian side would prefer not to take questions.
“He said, ‘Do they have any asks?’ And the MEA had one ask,” Mr.
Gor said.
Trump, however, forgot about the Indian side’s “ask”, Mr.
Gor claimed, and proceeded to answer questions.
“A 45-minute press conference followed, and everything was on the table,” he said.
PM Modi skips questions from press; Norwegian PM Store says ‘different traditions’ Official sources, however, pointed out that during the press interaction, all questions, both from U.S. and Indian presspersons, were aimed at Mr.
Trump and that Mr.
Modi was not asked any questions.
Congress reacts Meanwhile, the Congress party said the office of the Prime Minister was being “diminished and disrespected”.
“This is not just about Narendra Modi.
It is the office of India’s Prime Minister that is being diminished and disrespected,” Congress leader Pawan Khera said in a post on X.
Khera said Mr.
Gor’s remarks were revealing, suggesting that avoiding questions from the media was a regular practice under Mr.
Modi.
“Why is Modi so afraid of facing the media?” he asked.
In another post, Mr.
Trump had not taken Mr.
Modi’s concerns seriously.
“A compromised PM is not taken seriously,” he said.
“It is painful to see what India has been reduced to under Narendra Modi.
Once a formidable force.
Today, taken for granted,” he added, while asking why Mr.
Modi was “so afraid of press freedom — at home and abroad”.
