Sumitra Mahajan says 'LS Speaker, Centre should look into the fake news of my death'

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan became the latest victim of a death hoax on social media and had to announce that she is very much alive to refute the rumours. The false news about her demise started doing rounds after senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor sent out a condolence message for the family of the former Lok Sabha speaker.

The Congress leader’s tweet soon went viral, following which several other political leaders including Supriya Sule and Sharad Pawar offered their condolences. Tharoor and others deleted the tweets after BJP leaders pointed out that she was hale and hearty.’

Irked by the death hoax Sumitra Mahajan said, "How could 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?"

"The Central government and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla should take note of this," the BJP veteran said. “This became all-India news. I started getting calls from my relatives in Mumbai. My brother's daughter responded to Tharoor's tweet asking who gave him this fake news,” she added.

Shashi Tharoor falls for fake news 

Falling for fake news, Tharoor had said in a tweet: "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 and prayers: Om Shanti!”

After deleting the post, Tharoor said he was relieved to find out that Mahajan is doing fine and said he banked on "a reliable source" in putting out his tweet.

On Thursday night, the former Lok Sabha speaker's youngest son Mandar Mahajan posted a video clip to saying that his mother is perfectly fine and asked people not to believe any false news about her. As per reports, Sumitra Mahajan had complained of fever and was subsequently tested negative for COVID-19. She was the Lok Sabha Speaker from 2014 to 2019. She earlier represented the Indore Lok Sabha constituency in Parliament for eight terms.

(With inputs from agency)