No, Ex-President Pratibha Patil Did Not Praise PM Modi

A quote viral in the name of former president of India Pratibha Patil praising prime minister Narendra Modi, is fake.

BOOM contacted the private secretary of Pratibha Patil who, in an email response, refuted the viral claim.

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The viral post - a long Hindi caption - has been falsely attributed to the former president. The caption translates to 'Breaking news, former president of the country Smt Pratibha Patil has given a big statement on PM Modi. Pratibha Patil said that though I belong to Congress party, as a social activist, I will like to tell the citizens of India that Narendra Modi is the only person who can make India great because he has the courage to take decisions that can provide direction to the people of this country. Modi ji has led the country into a new direction. I have also served as a president of India but I have never seen a politician like PM Modi'.

(In Hindi: ब्रेकिंग न्युज *देश की पूर्व राष्ट्रपति श्रीमती प्रतिभा पाटिल ने पीएम मोदी को लेकर बड़ा बयान दिया है। प्रतिभा पाटिल ने कहा कि भले ही मैं कांग्रेस पार्टी से हूँ, लेकिन मैं आज भारत देश क़ी समाज सेविका के रूप में भारतीय जनता को ये कहना चाहती हूँ कि, नरेंद्र मोदी ही ऐसे एक इंसान हैं जो भारत देश को एक अच्छा राष्ट्र बना सकते हैं, क्योंकि उनमे वो निर्णय लेने की क्षमता हे जो भारत देश के देशवासियो को नई दिशा प्रदान कर सकते हैं । मोदी जी ने भारत देश को एक नई दिशा प्रदान की है, मैने भी देश के लिए एक राष्ट्रपति के रूप में सेवा की है। मगर मैंने कभी भी पीएम मोदी जैसा नेता नहीं देखा "

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Fact Check

BOOM did a keyword search with relevant terms but did not find any reports about such a statement issued by Patil.

We then reached out to the private secretary of the former president over email. In the reply, the private secretary said, "The viral social media post originated about two years back and is totally untrue and false propaganda."

Patil recides in Pune after serving India as its first woman president. She served the nation during UPA regime between 2007 and 2012.