A quote attributed to Urmila Matondkar claiming the former actor and Congress politician said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was mentally ill, after his jibe at former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, is false.
The viral post combines a photo of Urmila and the quote, "By abusing martyr Rajiv Gandhi, Modiji has proved he is mentally ill."
(Hindi: "शहीद राजीव गाँधी को गाली देकर मोदीजी ने साबित कर दिया की वो मानसिक रूप से बीमार हैं")
You can view the post here and its archived version can be accessed here.
The fake quote comes in the backdrop of Modi calling Rajiv Gandhi 'corrupt number 1' during an election rally. Speaking at a rally at Pratapgarh on May 4, 2019, Modi said, “Your father may have been declared Mr. Clean by his courtiers. But he died as Bhrashtachari No.1 (Corrupt No. 1),” addressing the sentence to Congress President Rahul Gandhi.
Fact Check
BOOM reached out to Matondkar via a text message.
"I wasn't even aware of any such thing being circulated in my name...as I have never said any such thing," Matondkar replied to BOOM.
Quote By Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel
While BOOM couldn't find any news report attributing the viral quote to Urmila Matondkar, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on May 6, 2019 called the prime minister mentally unstable for his 'bhrastachari' jibe at Rajiv Gandhi.
Baghel had described Modi's comment on Rajiv Gandhi highly condemnable and said that the 'PM has lost his mental balance and needs medication'. Read the story here.
“The PM’s remark on Rajiv ji is highly condemnable. No one can even imagine that a person of the stature of prime minister would make such a derogatory remark about a person who is not alive and was a respectable political figure. It shows the PM has lost his mental balance and needs medication,” Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.