New Delhi: Has Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a change of heart towards the Indian media?
Mr Modi has defied convention so far by not hiring a media advisor, preferring social media to the country’s thriving press. His public relations officer is a 70-year-old aide Jagadish Thakkar.
It is well documented the kind of popularity Mr Modi enjoys on social media. He is the most-followed politician on Twitter and his Facebook likes are over 10 million.
But what do we see in these photos?
Mr Modi is seen giving a helping hand to The Asian Age photographer in New Delhi Pritam Bandhopadhyay. Bandopadhyay took a tumble while covering the joint conference of chief ministers and chief justices at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan on Sunday.
The photos were clicked by Ashish Maitra of Photo Division, Ashish Kar of the UNI, freelancer Syed Hamid Ali and freelancer Ravi Batra.
“Modi unexpectedly came down from the podium to meet chief ministers and in the melee, I tripped and fell. He was in front of me. He stopped and started smiling widely at me. He then extended his hand to pick me up. I wasn’t sure whether to extend mine! And that is the story behind it. It was a nice gesture,” said Bandopadhyay, adding, “He seems more media friendly now, certainly more photographer friendly.”
On his first official trips to Bhutan and Brazil, Mr Modi had given the media a miss on his official aircraft, instead taking with him reporters from two news agencies and Doordarshan.
