PM's Remarks on Malnutrition During 'Mann Ki Baat' Shared With Misleading Claim

PM Narendra Modi spoke about the role of devotional songs in creating awareness about malnutrition.

Fact-check: PM Modi's statement about malnutrition was misinterpreted.

(Photo: The Quint)

A message which claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked how devotional songs and events can be a solution for malnutrition, during his monthly radio show 'Mann Ki Baat', is being shared across social media platforms.

While it is true that Modi spoke about malnutrition and about devotional events, he didn't say that it was a solution to solve the problem. He was referring to a campaign started in Madhya Pradesh called 'Mera Bachha Campaign' and spoke about how these events were used to spread awareness about malnutrition.

CLAIM

The claim was shared by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Working President KT Rama Rao, who wrote, "Bhajan as a solution for Malnutrition! That too coming from PM!"

An archive of the post can be seen here.

(SourceL Twitter/ Screenshot)

Ashok Swain, a professor of the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University in Sweden, also tweeted the same claim.

Similar claims shared on social media can be seen here and here.

WHAT WE FOUND

We looked Modi's recent episode of 'Mann Ki Baat' and found the video, which was live streamed on YouTube on 28 August.

In the video, Modi starts talking about malnutrition in India at around 11 minute 53 seconds timestamp mark.

At 12:52, he says, "Can you imagine, how songs, music and bhajans can also be used to solve the problem of malnutrition? It was successfully used in Madhya Pradesh's Datia district under the 'Mera Bachha Campaign'. For this campaign, bhajan-kirtans were organised in the district and nutrition gurus were called in."

We also found an English transcript of this latest episode which, too, carries the same translation and highlights everything that Modi said about malnutrition.

Nowhere in the episode does Modi directly says that devotional songs reduce the issue of malnutrition in the country. It was projected as a method to create awareness.

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