The Member of Parliament from Bhopal, Sadhvi Pragya recently again came under attack for a seemingly innocuous statement, urging people to undertake a spiritual effort to ward off the threat emanating from coronavirus outbreak.
Sadhvi Pragya posted a tweet, along with a video message, exhorting her followers to join her in a spiritual attempt to wish people good health in their fight against coronavirus. She asked people to recite Hanuman Chalisa for 5 times a day from July 25th to August 5th at 7 PM in the evening and conclude it with lighting a lamp in their houses.
“Let us all together make a spiritual effort to wish the people good health and bring an end to the coronavirus epidemic by reading Hanuman Chalisa 5 times daily in our homes from 25th to 5th August today at 7:00 pm and conclude it with Ramlalla’s aarti by lighting a lamp in our houses” Sadhvi Pragya tweeted.
आइए हम सब मिलकर कोरोना महामारी को समाप्त करने के लिए लोगों के अच्छे स्वास्थ्य की कामना के लिए एक आध्यात्मिक प्रयास करें आज25 से 5 अगस्त तक प्रतिदिन शाम 7:00 बजे अपने घरों में हनुमान चालीसा का 5 बार पाठकरें5 अगस्त को अनुष्ठान का रामलला की आरती के साथ घरों में दीप जलाकर समापन करें pic.twitter.com/Ba0J2KrkA8
— Sadhvi Pragya singh thakur (@SadhviPragya_MP) July 25, 2020
However, the appeal by the Bhopal MP to offer prayers to Hindu God Lord Hanuman did not sit well with a set of individuals and some mainstream media houses, who distorted the request made by Sadhvi Pragya to allege that she is advocating recital of Hanuman Chalisa as a ‘cure’ for coronavirus.
Sadhvi Pragya’s call for chanting Hanuman Chalisa triggers a meltdown among MSM and liberals
Sadhvi Pragya’s tweet triggered an instant meltdown among the liberal intelligentsia, who is already having a hard time coming to terms with Pragya’s election to the Parliament from Bhopal constituency. In the fit of their hatred against the BJP leader, liberals and the mainstream media outlets twisted the request made by her and ridiculed her for advocating the recital of Hanuman Chalisa as a solution to end the pandemic.
Yesterday the Prime Minister warned us that COVID-19 was still a serious problem. Even as he spoke his Sadhvi Pragya said it would be driven away by August 5 if we recite the Hanuman Chalisa five times a day. Who should we believe??
— Tavleen Singh (@tavleen_singh) July 27, 2020
NDTV journalist Stutee Mishra could not suppress her disdain for Sadhvi Mishra and in the process also revealed how her election to parliament is still a cause of burn for many journalists of liberal hue. Ms Mishra perverted Sadhvi Pragya’s request for reciting Hanuman Chalisa, alleging that the call for prayer to Hindu God Lord Hanuman for spiritual purposes is akin to going backwards and an anathema to science and logical thinking.
When you elect people like Sadhvi Pragya to Parliament, you expect exactly what you are being served. I won't be surprised if actually people think Hanuman Chalisa would cure corona. We are going backwards and science and logical thinking is their enemy.
— Stuti (@StutiNMishra) July 26, 2020
Prashant Bhushan, who is a serial fake news peddler, also declared that Sadhvi Pragya has announced that Hanuman Chalisa can ‘cure’ coronavirus. He then proceeded to mock the PM’s call to countrymen to appreciate COVID warriors.
"Recite Hanuman Chalisa to cure Covid"!BJP's terror accused MP Pragya Thakur's latest gem. Earlier BJP Minister Meghwal promoted his 'papad' to cure Covid. Inspiration from their master who said, "Thali/Tali bajao,candle jalao, 21 days mein Corona bhagao"? https://t.co/lTWNUfcJht
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) July 26, 2020
Leftist site The Wire too misrepresented the Bhopal MP’s statement and insinuated that Pragya has claimed that chanting Hanuman Chalisa till August 5 will ‘end’ coronavirus.
This is not the first instance that a BJP leader has given false information to end the pandemic. In March, the Kolkata police arrested a BJP activist who organised a ‘cow urine consumption event’, claiming that it will protect people from the coronavirus.https://t.co/wNNbOoum3w
— The Wire (@thewire_in) July 28, 2020
Mainstream media organisations such as CNN News18, Hindustan Times, and ABP News also had run misleading headlines regarding Sadhvi Pragya’s statement. A harmless call to devout Hindu adherents to recite Hanuman Chalisa was perverted by the media organisations to contend that the lawmaker has advocated chanting of Hanuman Chalisa as a cure for the viral infection.
BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur on Saturday appealed people to recite the Hanuman Chalisa five times a day till August 5, which she believes will rid the world of the coronavirus pandemic.https://t.co/uK7q2vUlOw
— News18 (@CNNnews18) July 26, 2020
भोपाल से बीजेपी की सांसद प्रज्ञा सिंह ठाकुर ने कहा कि देश से कोरोना वायरस की महामारी को समाप्त करने के लिए 'हनुमान चालीसा' का पाठ करें. #SadhviPragya #HanumanChalisa #COVID19 #CoronavirusIndia https://t.co/OpLVntw3WP
— ABP News (@ABPNews) July 26, 2020
Recite Hanuman Chalisa 5 times a day to eradicate #Covid19, says Pragya Thakurhttps://t.co/agOAknXded pic.twitter.com/zJsvmHZDac
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) July 26, 2020
Sadhvi Pragya’s innocuous tweet asking Hindu believers to embark on a spiritual endeavour with Hanuman Chalisa and aarti in the evenings appeared only as a means to uplift their spirits in the face of a deadly contagion and not as a treatment or cure to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the wanton distortion of Sadhvi Pragya’s request seemed like a concerted attempt undertaken by a certain section of mainstream media to mock the MP.