Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng says India’s Home Ministry blocked her visit

Oslo: Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng has claimed that Indian authorities stopped her from travelling to India, even though she held a valid visa to attend the Congress-organised “India Summit” in Hyderabad. In a post on X, Lyng said the Indian Embassy in Norway informed her of the cancellation just 10 minutes before she was set to leave for the airport. She had been invited as a speaker and panelist to discuss the future of media and press freedom.

Lyng alleged that her visa was cancelled on the orders of the Union Home Ministry and questioned Home Minister Amit Shah over the decision. “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 @AmitShah,” she wrote on November 11, 2026. In a video message, she said she had been looking forward to visiting India for the first time and had already packed her bags.

However, shortly before she was due to head to the airport, she received a call from the Indian Embassy telling her that she would not be able to travel. She also suggested that the move may be connected to her questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Norway earlier this year. Lyng had made headlines in May after she confronted Modi in Oslo as he was leaving following a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

She asked why the Prime Minister did not respond to questions from journalists. “Primeminister of India, Narendra Modi, would not take my question, I was not expecting him to. Norway has the number one spot on the World Press Freedom Index, India is at 157th, competing with Palestine, Emirates & Cuba.

It is our job to question the powers we cooperate with,” she wrote on May 18, 2026. Her latest claims have drawn attention on social media, with many users voicing support for the journalist and raising concerns about press freedom. Orissa POST – Odisha’s No.1 English Daily