Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng claims her Indian visa was cancelled last-minute before attending the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad, alleging political motivation behind the government's sudden decision to deny her entry into the country.
Norwegian Journalist Claims Last-Minute Indian Visa Cancellation
Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng has claimed that her Indian visa was cancelled at the last minute, moments before she was scheduled to leave for the airport in Norway to attend the Congress-organised Bharat Summit in Hyderabad, where she was invited to speak on media, press freedom and democracy. In a post on X, Lyng alleged that despite having received an Indian visa and political clearance for her visit, she was informed by the Indian Embassy in Norway that she would not be allowed to travel to India. She attributed the alleged decision to "orders from above" in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
"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," Lyng claimed in her post. A response from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to these allegations is awaited.
Journalist Describes Sudden Travel Restriction
In a video message accompanying the post, the journalist described how she was preparing for her first visit to India and alleged that the communication about her travel being stopped came barely 10 minutes before she was due to leave for the airport. "Today, I was supposed to go to India, the world's largest democracy, for the first time in my life. I was very excited. I had already packed my bags. I have a visa in my passport. I was ready to go. But as I was leaving for the airport, literally 10 minutes before I was supposed to leave, the Indian embassy of Norway calls me, and they said, 'You can't go to India today'," she claimed in the video.
Lyng said she was confused by the alleged decision as she had already secured the necessary clearances and had been invited to participate in the Hyderabad event. "And I'm a little confused, because I have political clearance, I have a visa, and I have a conference in Hyderabad, Telangana, waiting for me to arrive. I'm supposed to be a speaker there about media, about press freedom, about democracy, and how they're all intertwined," she added.
Direct Appeal to Union Home Minister
The journalist further claimed that the communication from the Indian Embassy indicated that although her visa had been issued, she would not be permitted to enter the country. In her video, she directly addressed Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging that the decision had come from his ministry. "So they tell me that although my visa is issued, I will not be allowed to enter India. And that's where you come in, Amit Shah. Apparently, it's your department, the—the Ministry of Home Affairs—that has said that I can't enter the country," she alleged.
Lyng also questioned the reasons behind the alleged action and suggested that it could be linked to her previous criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Oslo earlier this year and her work criticising the Indian government in Norway. "And I don't understand why, but it does feel politically motivated. I'm thinking maybe it has something to do with the fact that I used my freedom of the press back in May 2026 to question the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, here in Oslo, Norway," she claimed.
She also referred to opinion pieces published in her Norwegian newspaper and her online criticism of the Prime Minister's governance, suggesting that these could have contributed to the alleged decision. "I'm thinking it might also be because I've used my freedom of expression to criticise Narendra Modi and his governance, both in public opinion pieces for my Norwegian newspaper but also online for the Indian people to see," she added to her claims.
Opportunity to Attend the Summit
Despite the alleged last-minute communication, Lyng said there was still an opportunity for her to reach Hyderabad before her scheduled appearance at the summit and appealed to the Home Minister to reconsider the matter and allow her to travel. "Luckily, we still have time, Mr Shah, because I'm not set to go on stage before in 48 hours, which means that I could get on any of the next planes to Asia that would hopefully take me to Hyderabad on time," she said.
"So the ball is now in your court. What will the world's largest democracy do? Will I be able to enter the country, or will I not, when I have political clearance, a visa in my passport, a place to be, and most importantly, people both from the international environment, but most important to me, people of India, waiting for me and expecting me to be there? Can we make it work? I think we should make it work," she further claimed.
The Bharat Summit, organised by the Congress in Hyderabad, is scheduled to be held on November 13 and 14 at HITEX. The event is being organised for the second consecutive year under the leadership of Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and the Congress' Foreign Cell head Salman Khurshid. More than 1,000 participants, including elected representatives, policymakers and intellectuals from over 70 countries, have confirmed their participation in the summit. (ANI)
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