It Is Now A Decade Since A Press Conference By An Indian Prime Minister In India
It was on January 3, 2014, that the then prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh answered 62 questions from over 100 journalists in a press conference. media professional Pankaj Pachauri took to Twitter to remind people of the speciality of January 3, 2024, as it marks a decade since an Indian prime minister conducted a press conference.
“The last press conference by an Indian PM was held exactly 10 years ago today. 62 unscripted questions answered with 100+ journalists present,” Pankaj Pachauri wrote.
Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh addressed/ interacted with the Press 117 times during his 10 year tenure between 2004-14.
Below 👇🏾 is the link shared by his Information & Communications Advisor @PankajPachauri to his last Press Conference exactly 10 years ago to the… https://t.co/Nu7kbIif4k
— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) January 3, 2024
Pachauri was the information and communication advisor of Dr Manmohan Singh and Manmohan Singh at a time when the then Manmohan Singh was often slammed by the then opposition party, BJP for not talking to media.
However, India”s current Prime Minister Modi of BJP has been refusing to attend press meetings since he assumed office in 2014. Prime Minister Modi only talked to the media during his 2023 US visit to the White House, responding to two questions posed by the journalists there.
An article by the New York Times titled ‘Mark the day: Modi fielded live questions from the press’ pointed out that the White House event was a “notable departure” from PM Modi’s usual appearance, which tightly controlled his media availability. “Though he loves speeches at public events, and has leaned into his monthly radio show as a way to deliver messages to the nation, any exposure to unscripted events had been a rarity before the White House event, and probably will be again afterwards,” the newspaper reported.
Sharing Pachauri’s post, Congress MP Manish Tewari wrote on the social media platform X (Formerly Twitter) that the former PM interacted with the press 117 times during his ten-year tenure between 2004 and 2014. He also elaborated on the details explaining the number of domestic, and international press conferences that the prime minister attended. Manish Tewari further asked about the number of press conferences that Prime Minister Modi attended since 2014.
Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh addressed/ interacted with the Press 117 times during his 10 year tenure between 2004-14.
Press Conferences by Dr Manmohan Singh 2004-2014:
On foreign trips- 72
Annual Pressers – 10
Domestic/state visits- 23
Election/political/manifesto -… pic.twitter.com/F8ZjAiwRmn— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) January 3, 2024
