Journalists Allege Poor Press Management, Favoritism Toward Social Media Influencers at India's Hydrogen Train Inauguration

Key Points

THE INAUGURATION OF INDIA’S FIRST HYDROGEN TRAIN was held with much fanfare. On Friday, July 17, 2026, at the Jind railway junction in Haryana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi waved the green flag in front of the train, signaling a new achievement in clean and sustainable mobility in the Indian railways sector. The inauguration of any new public facility, especially one that is attended by the Prime Minister himself, is at the center of media attention. Journalists and other media personnel are usually summoned priorly to these events to ensure favorable media coverage. However, journalists have flagged concerns about the handling of the press during the hydrogen train inaugural event, alleging poor management and remarking that social media influencers were favored over journalists at the event. 

In an X post, journalist Sachin Gupta posted screenshots of Whatsapp chats of a group named “Jind Press Tour.” The group, allegedly, was the communication link between public relations officers working for the train inauguration event and journalists that were called for the press tour.

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Journalists Allege Social Media Influencers Were Given Priority 

One of the concerns that the journalists flagged in the group chats was the restriction placed upon them, that prevented them from video shooting the train inauguration event. Journalists alleged that they have been seeking permission to shoot at the event for over three months, yet weren't allowed. However, social media influencers and digital media were allowed to video shoot the event, yet television media journalists were barred from doing so. Some journalists alleged that social media influencers were given priority over journalists, complaining that the influencers were called a day before to cover the hydrogen train inauguration, whereas the journalists were called the next day.

“Social media is now priority. TV naa zaruru hai na majboori hai,” one journalist wrote in the chat. (TV is neither a necessity nor a compulsion.)

Complaints Over Hotel and Transport Arrangements 

In the X post’s caption, Sachin Gupta wrote that the Delhi media was summoned to Rohtak a day prior to the event. Over 60 hotel rooms were arranged in several hotels for the journalists’ stay, with the bill being footed by the government. In the group chats, the journalists talk about the condition of the rooms they were allotted to stay in, remarking that electricity had gone out in many rooms for over seven times. Journalists complained about how they were supposed to rest and sleep in these conditions, considering they had to wake up by 5-6 AM to have their bed tea and go to the inauguration event to cover it. 

One journalist who was staying in Hotel Rivoli alleged that the air condition in his room was not working, and wrote that phoning the reception desk to complain got no reply. 

See also: Fire Breaks Out at Rajasthan Refinery a Day Before PM Modi Was Scheduled to Visit and Inaugurate It

The journalists also remarked upon the poor management of the public relations officer, who is named as ‘Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay PRO’ in the WhatsApp chat. The official stated that the buses that were arranged to take the journalists to the event were stationed 2 kilometers away from the hotels. The official also remarked that because of the Prime Minister’s convoy also en route, the journalist would have to wait for some time. 

Replying to the official’s message, one journalist expressed his frustration and wrote: “Aapka management hee kharab hai. PM pehli baar kisi programme me nahi aaye hai. Itni bhayanak garmi me saari media yaha bhatak rahi hai aur aap bol rahe hai ki bus 2 km door h. Apna system theek kijiye shriman.” (Your management is terrible. This isn't the first time the PM has attended an event. The entire media is wandering around here in this scorching heat, yet you claim it’s just 2 km away. Please fix your system, sir.)

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