In a tweet late on Thursday night, Tharoor said, 'Saddened to learn of the passing of former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Majahan'
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has become the latest victim of death hoax on social media. Rumors about her death started doing rounds after senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor mistakenly sent out a condolence message for the family of the former Lok Sabha speaker.
In a tweet late on Thursday night, Tharoor said, “Saddened to learn of the passing of former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Majahan.”
“I remember many positive interactions with her, including when she and the late Sushma Swaraj asked me to lead a Parliamentary delegation to BRICS in MOSCOW. My condolences to her family and prayers: Om Shanti!” he added.
Now, reacting to the tweet of the Congress MP, Mahajan said, “My niece refuted Mr. Tharoor on Twitter but what was the urgency in announcing without confirmation?” She also pulled up news channels for telecasting report without cross-checking with the administration.
Earlier BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya had clarified that Mahajan is “absolutely fine”. “Tai ekdum swasth hai. Bhagwan unhe lambi umar de (She is absolutely fine. May God bless her with a long life).”
Later, Tharoor thanked Vijayvargiya for issuing a clarification in this regard.
Mahajan, 78, served as the Lok Sabha speaker from 2014 to 2019. The BJP MP represented the Indore constituency from 1989 to 2019 as the longest-serving woman member of Parliament and then retired from electoral politics.