New Delhi: A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden’s bilateral meeting on Friday, the White House had stated that despite several requests to the Modi government, reporters accompanying Biden to New Delhi had been denied better press access to the interaction.
While White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had said that the White House was “doing its best” to ensure that the media get better access, ultimately, the journalists were given a readout of the closed-door meeting held between the two leaders.
Modi and Biden held bilateral talks at the prime minister’s private residence on Lok Kalyan Marg a day ahead of the G20 Summit. There was no press conference after the meeting, a joint statement was issued by the two countries.
According to the statement, Biden reaffirmed the US’ support for a reformed United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with India as a permanent member, and supported India’s candidature for the UNSC non-permanent seat in 2028-29.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had Thursday remarked on the unusual nature of the bilateral meeting as it was held at Modi’s private residence. He noted, “This is not your typical bilateral visit to India, with meetings taking place in the prime minister’s office and an entire program. This is the host of the G20 hosting a significant number of leaders, doing so in his home, and he set out the protocols he set out.”
During a press briefing Thursday, Sullivan stated that Washington worked hard to ensure proper press access. “We are putting our money where our mouth is in terms of making sure that the American press will have all of the access that they need and are entitled to as members of the international press, as members of the White House press.”
According to the US reports, numerous Washington officials including Sullivan, communications director Ben LaBolt, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, and deputy assistant to the President and coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell, all communicated with their Indian counterparts, but were unable to get more press access for the media.
This comes roughly two months after Modi’s US state visit, when American media reports indicated that India was initially reluctant about a press conference and had pushed the idea of a joint statement.
Modi has often been criticised by foreign media and press freedom groups for rarely participating in or holding press conferences. During his visit to the US in June this year, Modi did participate in a rare joint press conference in Washington, where both leaders took two questions. Here, the Wall Street Journal’s Sabrina Siddiqui questioned Modi about discrimination against religious minorities in India.
“There is absolutely no space for discrimination…And when you talk of democracy, if there are no human values and there is no humanity, there are no human rights, then it’s not a democracy,” Modi had said.
However, post the press conference, Siddiqui was at the receiving end of a wave of trolling on social media, with trolls calling her “the daughter of Pakistani parents” and for “echoing the claims of Islamists”. The White House had condemned the online harassment faced by the WSJ journalist, calling it ‘completely unacceptable’.
While Biden will not address reporters at the end of the G20 Summit in New Delhi Sunday, he will hold a press conference in Vietnam, where the US leader is headed to on Monday.
The White House noted that it would be “easier” for the president to take questions from reporters then.
“It was just logistically easier to do it — and it wouldn’t change anything, because it would have just been the president doing a solo press conference. So instead of doing it in India, he’s going to be doing it in Vietnam, that doesn’t change anything at all,” Jean-Pierre said.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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