Congress' Jairam Ramesh hit out at the prime minister over his "criticism is the soul of democracy" remarks during the podcast

On Sunday, Jairam Ramesh criticized P.M. Narendra Modi for saying he has no time for a press conference during a podcast with Lex Fridman.

Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh hit out at the P.M over his "criticism is the soul of democracy" remarks during the podcast with Lex Fridman, and stated that he is "demolishing" institutions that were to hold his government accountable and having gone after critics "with a vengeance". “He who is afraid of facing the media in a press conference has found comfort in a foreign podcaster anchored in the rightwing ecosystem,” Ramesh wrote on X.

He who is afraid of facing the media in a press conference has found comfort in a foreign podcaster anchored in the rightwing ecosystem. And he has the gall to say that “criticism is the soul of democracy” when he has systematically gutted every institution that is to hold his…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 16, 2025

The Congress leader added: “And he has the gall to say that “criticism is the soul of democracy” when he has systematically gutted every institution that is to hold his Government accountable and gone after critics with a vengeance that no one in recent history has matched! There is no limit to Hypo(d)crisy."

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