Hell(e) hath no fury... Norwegian scribe now turning tables on Modi

A Norwegian woman is threatening to eclipse footballer Erling Haaland this month as the most talked-about Norwegian in India.

Two months ago, in May, she was abused as a foreign spy, a silly woman, a foreign agent, and showered with threats by Narendra Modi bhakts in India. Her crime? She dared to ask PM Narendra Modi, who was visiting Oslo for the India-Nordic summit, a question on press freedom and human rights. "Mr Prime Minister," she asked, "why wouldn't you take a question from the freest press in the world?", alluding to the Press Freedom Index, which ranks Norway number one and India 157th out of 180 countries.

The prime minister ignored her and left the venue without answering. India's Ministry of External Affairs invited her to a briefing the same day, along with other journalists, and lectured them on India and ancient Indian culture. The 'incident' grabbed international headlines and went viral online.

Now, Helle Lyng Svendson seems to be having the last laugh. Her social media feed shows that she has been relentlessly following the 'news' in India as well as PM Modi, drawing her own conclusions about the PM, Opposition leaders, Union ministers, the state of education, roads, cities, and even Indian media.

Her posts, complete with relevant photographs, have gone unnoticed in India, and we publish this summary with some regret, because it is safe to assume that, once alerted, the Indian government will soon ensure that her posts are blocked from viewing in India, which would be a pity.

Even more regrettably, the lady will almost certainly never visit India again, certainly not on an invitation from the Indian government. She could be placed on a permanent blacklist and denied an Indian visa for as long as the BJP remains in power. Until then, Indians can follow her, read her posts, laugh, or lament.

Commenting on PM Modi's visit to Australia this week, she writes: 'Mr. Modi wants to watch dancing in India, and when he goes abroad, he wants to watch dancing there as well. If Mr. Modi wanted, he could visit the schools in Australia. He could see what kind of quality education the government there is providing to children, and that too for free. How children are being taught technology, what is being taught in their books, that so many children from India go to study in Australia, while children from Australia never come to India to study. But what do I care?'

She then turns her gaze to Surat, the 'Smart City' that experienced heavy rainfall this week, in which 23 people lost their lives. 'There is a leader who is roaming abroad, watching dance performances, enjoying himself, while his own city is submerged. When the city is dry, he holds roadshows there. Today, the people of his city are searching for him, wishing that their leader would come, help them, and hold a roadshow in the flooded houses and on the submerged roads,' is her sardonic comment. She then twists the knife a little more.

'It seems that Mr. Modi was not allowed to sell tea at this railway station, which is why special development has been carried out here. A tender worth crores must have been approved. If passengers did not come after taking a bath at home, they are getting such excellent facilities here. Fifteen years as Chief Minister, 15 years as Prime Minister. The person who is unable to develop his own hometown and cannot stop corruption is instead enjoying a dance show in Australia,' the post reads. One is left wondering how the PIB and the MEA will respond.

Referring to Indian news reports and photographs about government schools, she posts a photograph of schoolchildren at a government school and comments: 'Mr. Modi goes around the world giving speeches. You tell me, what are government schools in India like? What is the condition of the schools? What is the quality of education like? The world should know that this is the condition in the state where Mr. Modi's government is in power and for which he is responsible. Leave aside other places. People are dreaming of building a $5 trillion economy in India, but what kind of facilities are they providing to the people?'

Nothing seems to escape her notice. Posting a photograph of BJP national president Nitin Nabin and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath sucking on mangoes in Lucknow with their colleagues, she quips: 'In India, MLAs, ministers, and chief ministers are sucking and eating mangoes using the people's tax money. Is there an ongoing mango-sucking competition in India?'

She does not spare the Opposition either, or the Indian media. She questions why Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is not visible in India in the first week of July, when 'he ought to be with the people'.

She also spots a TV show in which anchor Rubika Liaquat is explaining —on a blackboard — the advantages of ethanol blending to viewers. 'Indian media has practically opened a classroom to protect the government. Using a blackboard, they are giving lessons to 1.5 billion Indians about ethanol petrol. Have you ever seen Indian journalists using a blackboard to give lessons against the government on issues like pollution, education, paper leaks, corruption, and other such matters?' she asks.

On Friday, 10 July, she posted an AI-generated image of herself with PM Modi in Australia. 'India's Prime Minister Mr Modi is currently visiting Australia. There, a girl who loves Mr Modi very much got the opportunity to see him in person. The girl was working as a photographer at Mr Modi's event. When the photographer came face to face with Mr Modi, it became a complete fan moment. The photographer wanted someone to click a photo of her with Mr Modi. She went behind Mr Modi and gestured towards the people sitting in front, saying, "Please, take a photo of me with my Mr Modi."

'There are many leaders who are favourites of many people. Some people judge them by their work, while others judge them by their personality. What do you like about Mr Modi? The girl made it the most memorable moment of her life. Perhaps they may never meet again, but because of Mr Modi, one girl's day was made...!'

PM Modi and Indian diplomats must be regretting their ham-handed response to Helle in Oslo. The prime minister, especially, must be ruing his decision to ignore the question she put to him. They may yet dismiss the posts as juvenile and frivolous. A confident government would, however, invite her to visit India as its guest and show her both the country's many successes as well as its failures.