A message is being shared on social media claiming that former Lok Sabha Speaker and BJP leader Sumitra Mahajan has passed away.
A Facebook user shared the post with the caption: “Former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan passes away, Om Shanti.”
Here’s the link to the above post. Check similar posts here and here.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also tweeted about Mahajan’s demise on Thursday night (April 22). “Saddened to learn of the passing of former LokSabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. I remember many positive interactions with her, including when she &the late Sushma Swaraj asked me to lead a Parliamentary delegation to BRICS in Moscow. My condolences to her family &prayers: OmShanti!,” Tharoor wrote in a now deleted tweet.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the claim and found it to be false.
On searching for any related news reports or official statement regarding the same, we found a tweet by BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya who denied the news about the former Lok Sabha Speaker’s demise.
“ताई एक दम स्वस्थ है । भगवान उन्हें लम्बी उमर दे ।” Kailash Vijayvargiya wrote in Hindi.
Tharoor later deleted his tweet, saying that he received the information from what he thought was a reliable source.
Thanks @kailashOnline. I have deleted my tweet. I wonder what motivates people to invent and spread such evil news that takes in people. My best wishes for Sumitra ji’s health and long life.
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 22, 2021
Media organisations like Hindustan Times, who reported the story based on Tharoor’s tweet, also retracted it.
Story on former Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s death has been withdrawn.
We regret the publishing of this news. https://t.co/chiV27C2KA pic.twitter.com/BQY5A1b96U
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) April 22, 2021
Mahajan herself was shocked when she got to know that news about her death was circulated on social media without any confirmation.
“Media should not publish such news without any confirmation. They should have confirmed with the Indore administration before putting out such news on Twitter,” Sumitra Mahajan told ANI.
How could news channels run a report on my so called demise without even cross checking with the #Indore administration? My niece refuted Mr. Tharoor on Twitter but what was the urgency in announcing without confirmation?: @S_MahajanLS former #LokSabha speaker (File photo) pic.twitter.com/drYMuvQC6e
— NewsMobile (@NewsMobileIndia) April 23, 2021
Hence, from the above information, we can say that the claim about Sumitra Mahajan’s demise is False.
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