Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Sunday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat programme was more popular among the masses than Mahabharat and Ramayan mega TV serials of the 1980s.
IMAGE: Crowd gathers to listen to a special broadcast of the 108th episode of PM Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ organized by the Indian Minorities Foundation at Mahila Park, Jamia Masjid, in Delhi on Sunday. Photograph: Amit Sharma/ANI Photo
His assertion came after listening to the 108th episode of Mann Ki Baat at his home constituency Town Bardowali along with party leaders and workers.
“We used to see our mothers and sisters rushing towards TV screens to watch episodes of Mahabharat and Ramayan soaps on Doordarshan every Sunday. Nowadays, we see our mothers and sisters rushing to listen to PM’s Mann Ki Baat on the last Sunday of every month. This programme is more popular than the soaps of the 1980s,” he said, while addressing the gathering.
“In the 1980s too, people criticised women rushing to watch TV soaps and even now many criticise those who listen to Mann Ki Baat. But it makes no difference as people know what is what,” he added.
Mahabharat (1988) and Ramayan (1987), two epic serials created by B R Chopra and Ramananda Sagar respectively, were telecast on Doordarshan and were widely popular.
