Published Nov 12, 2026 | 11:50 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 12, 2026 | 12:06 PM
In her message to Amit Shah, Lyng urged the government to reconsider the decision.
Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng, who made headlines in India after questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Oslo visit in May, has been denied entry into the country ahead of her trip to Hyderabad to attend the ‘Bharat Summit’ organised by the Telangana government.
Lyng has been listed as a speaker for a panel discussion on ‘The Future of Media’ on the last day of the summit, on November 14.
In a post on X, Lyng alleged that her visa had been cancelled hours before she was set to board a flight to Hyderabad. She alleged the decision to cancel her visa came after “orders from above in the Ministry of Home Affairs.”
“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 panellist and speaker on the future of media and press freedom,” she said in the post.
Lyng, who works for the Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen, also shared a video message addressed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“This message is for Amit Shah….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 for the airport, literally 10 minutes before I was supposed to leave, the Indian Embassy of Norway calls me and they say ‘you can’t go to India today’. And I am a little confused because I have politically clearance, I have a visa and I have a conference in Hyderabad, Telangana, waiting for me to arrive,” Lyng said.
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
— Helle Lyng (@HelleLyngSvends) November 11, 2026
She said the last-minute cancellation of her visa felt like a “politically motivated” move.
“…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 Ministry of Home Affairs – that has said i can’t enter the country. And I don’t understand why. But it does feel politically motivated,” she said.
Lyng also claimed the cancellation of her visa might have something to do with her criticism of PM Modi.
“Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I used my freedom of press back in May 2026 to question the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, here in Oslo, Norway. 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 from my Norwegian newspaper, but also online for the Indian people to see,” she said.
The Norwegian journalist also wondered if her “criticism of Adani and Ambani, two of Narendra Modi’s alleged close friends, both very rich, the powerful billionaires of India and Asia…may also have something to do with this.”
She also mentioned her “positive opinion pieces” on the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and its founder, Abhijeet Dipke and said it “might be the reason why I’m not allowed” to enter India.
On May 18, as Modi and his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Støre were leaving after reading out a joint press statement in Oslo, Lyng asked, “Prime Minister Modi, why don’t you take some questions from the freest press in the world?” The video of the exchange, showing Modi walking away without answering, went viral on social media and was reported across Indian and international media.
“My journalist friends in India say it might be because Modi is a vengeful man who doesn’t forget easily. I just don’t understand what they are thinking. Did they think I would not write about this?” Lyng was quoted as saying by The Wire.
In her message to Amit Shah, Lyng urged the government to reconsider the decision noting that there is still time before her scheduled panel discussion.
“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 and my passport, a place to be and most importantly people from international environment and India waiting and expecting for me to be there,” Lyng said.
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
