White House 'pushing' for India's Modi to answer questions from journalists
Narendra Modi doesn't usually take questions from media beyond occasional interviews and hasn't addressed a single press conference in India since becoming prime minister.
US First Lady Jill Biden and Indian Prime Minister Modi visit the National Science Foundation in Alexandria, VA / Photo: Reuters
US President Joe Biden and visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver remarks and take questions from journalists during Modi's state visit, the White House has said.
The White House had been pushing for Modi to answer questions from journalists, a senior US official said, according to the Reuters news agency.
It is unusual for Modi to take questions from the media, beyond occasional interviews.
He has not addressed a single press conference in India since becoming prime minister about nine years ago.
In May 2019, he attended a news conference but never took questions.
Tightly controlled press conferences
White House press conferences with other world leaders have been tightly controlled, with US officials designating reporters beforehand from the American and foreign media for Biden and his guest to call upon, and a very limited number of questions.
Biden is under pressure by his fellow Democrats to raise human rights with Modi amid concerns about democratic backsliding in India.
Modi has been to the United States five times since becoming prime minister in 2014, but the trip will be his first with the full diplomatic status of a state visit.
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