CLAIM
A post put up by the Facebook page ‘Viral in India’ claims that Sambit Patra has been removed from his post as BJP national spokesperson.
The post reads:
संबित पात्रा को BJP के प्रवक्ता के पद से हटाया गया
अफ़सोस अब मंदिर कौन बनाएगा?
(Translated: Sambit Patra has been removed from the post of BJP spokesperson. Pity. Now who’ll build the Ram Mandir?)
The post, first published on 23 December, had over 4.1k shares at the time of writing this article.
TRUE OR FALSE?
The claims made in the post are false. Sambit Patra has certainly not been removed from the post, as is evident from his Twitter timeline.
On 23 December, the BJP’s official handle tweeted about a press conference which was addressed by Patra in his capacity as the party’s national spokesperson.
Further, he continues to be listed as a national spokesperson of the party on the BJP’s official website.
When The Quint reached out to Patra for his response over the post, he confirmed that it indeed was ‘fake news’.
WHY THIS RUMOUR?
The claim probably stems from the fact that former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy was appointed as a BJP national spokesperson by party president Amit Shah on 22 December.
A party statement said Mr Rudy's appointment would take place with immediate effect.
Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a Lok Sabha MP from Bihar who had defeated RJD president Lalu Prasad's wife Rabri Devi in 2014 general elections, was given independent charge of the Skill Development Ministry by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but was later dropped in a cabinet reshuffle.
Mr Rudy, a Rajput leader, was also a minister in the first BJP-led NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
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