Leaders answer only what they want to — that is their strength,” wrote journalist Dinesh Akula, recalling his 2003 interview with Narendra Modi.
RAIPUR (India CSR): “Leaders answer only what they want to, and that is their strength,” veteran journalist Dinesh Akula reflected in a Facebook post today, claiming his first and only personal interview with Narendra Modi in Raipur back in 2003. Akula, a Ramnath Goenka Award winner and Chevening Scholar, said the ten-minute exchange taught him a lifelong lesson in political communication: a leader may not respond to your exact question, but will never miss the chance to put forward the message they want the people to hear.
In a Facebook post shared today, Akula narrated how the ten-minute encounter left him with what he describes as a “lasting lesson in political communication.”
The Setting: Raipur, 2003
The national executive meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) between July 18–20, 2003, turned Raipur into a political hub. Police had barricaded VIP Road, and convoys of government cars filled the new state capital. Reporters and camera crews thronged the area outside Hotel Babylon International, where senior party leaders were meeting.
Akula, then on his first television assignment with the newly launched Star News after nine years in print journalism, was also present.
“I had covered politics for years as a print journalist,” Akula wrote. “But this was my first major television assignment. The atmosphere was tense, and everyone was eager to get even a short byte from senior leaders.”
Arranged Meeting Through Raman Singh
At the time, Akula had known Dr. Raman Singh, then Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, and Ramesh Bais, then Minister of State for Steel and Mines.
“Dr. Raman Singh told me he would try to set up a meeting with Narendra Modi,” Akula recalled. “That afternoon, as I waited in the hotel lobby, he sent me a message and asked me to come inside.”
He was led to a tent where senior leaders were seated. “Narendra Modi was there, dressed in a light blue kurta, holding a small saffron cloth,” Akula said.
Modi’s Sharp Question
According to Akula, Dr. Raman Singh introduced him as a “sincere young journalist.” Modi immediately looked at him and asked:
“Paper or TV?”
“I told him, ‘Star News,’” Akula remembered. “He asked, ‘Where is the camera?’ I called my cameraman Govind Sahu, who quickly came forward. Modi pointed to a white-sheeted sofa next to him and asked me to sit.”
The Interview: Questions on Godhra, Answers on Water
Akula began with a direct question in Hindi: “What is your stand on the allegations about Godhra? Did it affect you personally?”
“Modi looked straight into the camera but instead began speaking about the Sardar Sarovar Project,” Akula said. “He spoke about pipelines carrying water from the Narmada River to Saurashtra and Kutch.”
Thinking Modi may not have understood, Akula repeated the question. “This time, he spoke about how thousands of women were happy because water was reaching their homes. He explained how his government was working to improve villages,” Akula recalled.
When he rephrased the question a third time, Modi smiled slightly and ended the conversation with the words:
“I think I have answered all your questions at length. Good to meet you. Have a nice day.”
“He stood up and walked toward the meeting,” Akula added.
A Lesson That Stayed
For Akula, the encounter was brief but unforgettable. “At first, I wondered if I had asked the wrong question,” he wrote. “Later, I realised he had understood me perfectly. But he only answered what he wanted to, not what I had asked.”
The meeting was his first and last personal interaction with Narendra Modi. “After that, I reported on his public speeches and rallies, but never got another personal meeting,” Akula said.
A Lasting Memory
Today, as a seasoned journalist, Chevening Scholar, IVLP alumnus, and Ramnath Goenka Award winner, Akula still remembers that day clearly.
“Those ten minutes in Raipur taught me a lesson for life,” he wrote. “In politics, leaders don’t always respond to your questions. But they never miss the chance to deliver their own message.”
Akula said it was a recent conversation that brought back the memory. “When someone asked me recently if I had ever interviewed Narendra Modi, I remembered that afternoon in July 2003. That is why I decided to write this post on Facebook.”
(India CSR)
