The Congress and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday questioned why the government was afraid of scrutiny after Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng, who was in the news during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Oslo in May, claimed her visa was cancelled minutes before she was due to leave for India.
Lyng, an independent journalist based in Norway, said she was scheduled to attend and speak at the 'Bharat Summit', organised by the Congress in Hyderabad on November 13 and 14.
In a post on X, Lyng directly questioned Home Minister Amit Shah over the cancellation of her visa, which had been issued by the Indian embassy in Norway. She said it was revoked minutes before she was due to leave for the airport and expressed hope that Shah would allow her to visit the world's largest democracy. There was no independent confirmation of the visa cancellation claim or immediate response from the government.
The Congress reacted strongly, questioning why the government was afraid of questions.
"You may remember - a journalist in Norway asked Modi a question, and Modi was seen running away. Now that same journalist, Helle Lyng, was due to attend the 'Bharat Summit' being held in Telangana, but her visa was cancelled before she could even get there. Why are Modi and his government so afraid of questions," Congress posted on its X handle.
The Editors Guild of India also questioned why Lyng had initially been granted a visa before being informed that she would not be allowed to enter the country. "The Editors Guild of India notes with deep concern the last-minute cancellation of the visa issued to independent Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng," it said.
"The EGi is at a loss to understand the reason for this cancellation. Mrs Lyng is a legitimate and respected international journalist, whose only 'crime' appears to have been posing a question to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a press briefing in Oslo in May, 2026."
"Such actions smack of bureaucratic overreach and do immense harm to India's image as the world's largest democracy. Freedom of speech is one of the first principles that any functioning democracy abides by. It is also a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution under Article 19(1)(a)," the Editors Guild said in a statement.
"The EGi demands that the government disclose the reasons for the cancellation of Ms Lyng's visa. The Guild also demands that the cancellation be reversed and that Ms Lyng be allowed to present her views to the Indian people," the Guild said in a joint statement signed by its president Sanjay Kapoor and general secretary Raghavan Srinivasan.
Trinamool Congress leader Sagarika Ghose also reacted strongly to Lyng's post, saying, "Shame on the @narendramodi - @AmitShah regime."
Responding to the Editors Guild's statement, she said, "Outrageous. Cancel a journalist's visa for asking questions, then fly to global summits to preach 'democracy'. The @narendramodi regime can't handle a single question it didn't script. Those who fear open questioning reveal what abysmal failures they are at governance."
In her post on X, Lyng wrote: "I got a visa to India and was supposed to leave this morning to attend the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad. I had been invited as a panelist and speaker on the future of media and press freedom."
"But 'orders from above' in the Ministry of Home Affairs have cancelled my visa. Here is my message for Amit Shah," she said, asking Shah why her visa had been cancelled.
In May, Lyng had unsuccessfully attempted to question Modi after he and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store made statements to the media following bilateral talks. The media had already been informed that the two leaders would not take questions during the joint interaction.
(With inputs from PTI)