Fact Check: No, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat didn't say he's lost faith in religion after Covid

An alleged newspaper clipping in Hindi is doing rounds on social media claiming that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that he has lost faith in religion because of the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the purported report, the number of Coronavirus cases in India has crossed 25,000 and it has resulted in the closing of all the temples and religious places. It further states that even our Prime Minister asked people to light candles and bang utensils but that did not work as well. Apart from the title- “कोरोना ने तोड़ी मेरी धर्म में आस्था – मोहन भागवत”, the newspaper clip does not carry Mohan Bhagwat’s name.

ORIGIN:

The clip started doing rounds on social media, especially Twitter. On May 18, Twitter user @DR_Ambedkarji shared the clipping and wrote in Hindi which translates to, "This is the greatest news of today. It feels good to see RSS and Mohan Bhagwat’s fear. This fear should be there and soon, people should rid themselves of religion. Our children’s futures need to be better. The world has blind faith and is capable of doing anything. They have freedom.” Several other users also share the clip on Twitter. 

TRUTH:

On May 19, Narendra Kumar who is the Akhil Bharatiya Sah Prachar Pramukh, RSS refuted the claims. He wrote that Bhagwat has never made the statement attributed to him and that a false quote is circulating on social media in his name. Also, the alleged viral clip has lots of editing mistakes in it. For example, the photo of Mohan Bhagwat is not aligned and there is extra spacing between the words

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In his address to the Sangh workers on April 26, Bhagwat had cautioned against forces inimical to India's interests taking advantage of the situation, exhorted all to help those affected without any discrimination and stressed on developing a self-reliant economy. "We have to be patient and calm. There should be no fear or anger as people with anti-India mindset can use it against the country," he said in an online address to workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Bhagwat said India handled this pandemic effectively as government and people responded proactively to the crisis. Bhagwat never said that he has lost faith in religion due to Coronavirus.

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