Sangita Barua Pisharoti, President of the Press Club of India, stated on Saturday that the journalistic organization neither organized nor endorsed the 'Modi Chalisa' event on its premises, calling it a 'breach of trust.'
Publishing a video message on X, Pisharoti clarified that the Press Club regularly rents out its facilities and has a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) governing such events. She clearly emphasized: 'At the very beginning, I want to state clearly that this event was not organized by the Press Club of India, and we did not endorse it. A categorical no.'
This clarification followed the widespread circulation of photos and videos of the event, which took place on Thursday. These images depicted a cutout portrait of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, presented in a divine form, during the recitation of a poem titled 'Modi Chalisa.'
The Press Club had previously issued a statement on the same day, asserting that it did not hold the event and that club authorities interrupted it after a violation of the venue rental terms.
Pisharoti reported that club rules require any event to be recommended by a club member who must also be present during the program. She noted that in this case, the trust placed in the recommender by the club was violated because the person was not present at the event, which itself was a breach of club rules.
Furthermore, it was established that the hall was booked for a press conference, but the organizers instead staged an open fire inside the premises. Pisharoti stressed that 'an open fire was lit inside the hall instead, which is a huge violation of the terms under which our venue is rented.' She added that the Secretary General had already sent notices demanding explanations from the relevant individuals and initiated a review of the SOP.
The event organizer, Rajan Singh, Vice-President of the Bihar State Transgender Welfare Board, told PTI that he plans to build a temple for Modi in Bihar. Singh stated: 'For the first time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured the rights of the transgender community... If we want to build a temple for him, what is the problem?'
He specified that the proposed temple for 'Lord Shri Narendra Modi ji' would cost 112 crore rupees and would be built on five hectares of land in Bihar.
Meanwhile, Pisharoti stated that the Press Club will continue to focus on media freedom and open discussion, noting that the Managing Committee intends to 'preserve and promote this legacy,' as the Press Club of India has always advocated for the rights and freedoms of journalists.