NEW DELHI -- It's not that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has avoided talking about the stormy monsoon session of parliament which kicked off today in the midst of serious allegations against Bharatiya Janata Party leaders over the Lalit Modi scandal and the Vyapam scam.
Indeed, Modi spoke eloquently even though his government is facing a potential washout over the next three weeks of parliament. "I am hopeful that the parliament will live up to the country's expectations to act as a medium for constructive debate," he said on Tuesday morning.
Inspiring stuff.
But when fielding questions from journalists, Modi's eloquence vanished. In this video, the prime minister dons a blank expression with a hint of a smile, his eyes glaze over, and he turns his head from right to left, while reporters ask him questions about the unfolding political situation.
Modi's relationship with the media turned sour after the 2002 Gujarat riots, and he has rarely given interviews to the Indian journalists in over a decade. After speaking to CNN in September, Modi gave first interview as prime minister to the Indian media in April 2015 - almost a year after he took office.
Last year, Modi ticked off the media with his policy decision not to take journalists on Air India One for official trips abroad.
But so comical was the scene on Tuesday that the reporters start laughing, and even senior BJP leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi can't suppress their smiles.
READ: Congress Causes Repeated Adjournments Over Lalit Modi Scandal
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Indeed, Modi spoke eloquently even though his government is facing a potential washout over the next three weeks of parliament. "I am hopeful that the parliament will live up to the country's expectations to act as a medium for constructive debate," he said on Tuesday morning.
Inspiring stuff.
But when fielding questions from journalists, Modi's eloquence vanished. In this video, the prime minister dons a blank expression with a hint of a smile, his eyes glaze over, and he turns his head from right to left, while reporters ask him questions about the unfolding political situation.
Modi's relationship with the media turned sour after the 2002 Gujarat riots, and he has rarely given interviews to the Indian journalists in over a decade. After speaking to CNN in September, Modi gave first interview as prime minister to the Indian media in April 2015 - almost a year after he took office.
Last year, Modi ticked off the media with his policy decision not to take journalists on Air India One for official trips abroad.
But so comical was the scene on Tuesday that the reporters start laughing, and even senior BJP leaders Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi can't suppress their smiles.
READ: Congress Causes Repeated Adjournments Over Lalit Modi Scandal
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