Renowned Katha Vachak (Dharmik Storyteller) and saint Morari Bapu recently organised a special Ramkatha. Along with his 1008 disciples and devotees, he has started a train journey. This train will travel to all the 12 Jyotirlingas of the country and the Katha program of Morari Bapu will be held at all the places. The yatra started from Haridwar on 22nd July 2023 and will conclude at Talgajarda in Gujarat.
Last week, the media extensively covered the special Ramkatha event, during which renowned speaker Morari Bapu was interviewed by several major TV news channels, including ABP News. In the ABP interview, certain claims were made suggesting that Morari Bapu had disapproved of the Modi government. However, the fact is, he has not made any such comment, and his remarks were twisted and taken out of context to claim that he criticise the Modi government. Let’s delve into the details to understand the context and truth of these claims.
The July 28, 2023 edition of the Rajkot-based evening daily, Headline, featured a news article with the headline “Hey, Ram! Morari Bapu Suggests Modi Government Has ‘Failed’!” The report claimed that Morari Bapu, while giving his opinion on the Modi government in the interview, had said that he gives 30 marks out of 100 to the present government, that is, not even passing marks. The photos also have a special significance in the reports. In the report, there are pictures of Modi with Morari Bapu. In these photos, Modi looks worrisome.
The report says, “In an interview with ABP News, Morari Bapu was asked a question on the report card of the Modi government, and he said, ‘Earlier I was a teacher. 35 pass marks out of 100 were needed for passing in those days. In the examination when someone used to get 30 marks, I used to pass him by increasing 5 marks.’ On the present government, he said, ‘In the assessment that I have done, I give 30 marks and give 5 marks as grace marks, that is, pass.'” This cutting of the newspaper is currently going viral on social media. But the reality is different.
What is the truth?
Morari Bapu’s interview was aired on ABP News on July 27, 2023, in which he discussed many issues including religion and politics. It is true that he talked about these passing marks here, but he did not take the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or his government anywhere. He spoke in the context of the current political situation.
ABP News shared a clip of the interview from its official Twitter account, in which Morari Bapu spoke about it.
Watch | कथावाचक मुरारी बापू Exclusive
— ABP News (@ABPNews) July 27, 2023
राजनीति में 'राम' नाम का काफी इस्तेमाल हो रहा है, इसको लेकर क्या सोचते हैं बापू ?@shreenivash2001 | https://t.co/smwhXUROiK @MorariBapu_ #MorariBapu #ExclusiveInterview pic.twitter.com/iBR4wrODZX
The anchor asked Morari Bapu, “In today’s date, in your view, is the Rajdharma of Ramcharitmanas-Ramayana established in India? Do we need a change or everything is going well?”
In response, Bapu said, “I won’t say anything about others or say anything about the field of politics. But there is a need to establish Rajdharma among the youth, and that Rajdharma is of love, truth and compassion.” He added, “I was a teacher in primary school. In the paper of 100 marks, 35 marks were needed for a student to get passed. Sometimes if there was a weak student who brought 30, we used to give 5 grace marks to him.”
Then the anchor asked, “How many marks will you give out of 100 in the current situation? Will you judge the politics here with 30, 35 or distinction?” In response, Morari Bapu said, “I can give 30 marks that I have assessed. This is a very big thing and if god gives 5 grace marks, then it will pass.
Here neither the anchor mentioned Modi or his government nor Morari Bapu. The two were talking about the current political situation and this was discussed in its regard.
Therefore, it is misleading to say that he has said this about the Modi government. However, during the broadcast of this interview, the text was written at the top end according to ‘How many numbers did Morari Bapu give To Modi’, but in the interview, he did not mention the Prime Minister or the government anywhere.
ABP News also clarified later that Morari Bapu did not name any political party or Prime Minister Modi during the interview. In an earlier interview, it was by mistake mentioned that marks were given, which was wrong.
