Following Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as Union education minister amid negotiations with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), BJP MP Sambit Patra refuted claims on Tuesday that the Center had suggested a new ministerial portfolio for him.
The reports, according to the BJP leader and Puri MP, had "no basis" and were released only to "sensationalise the issue."
Patra's explanation followed several media reports claiming that during talks with the CJP team, the Center had considered giving senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan a new position.
ALSO READ | CJP Rejected Centre's Offer To Change Pradhan's Portfolio During Protests: Sources
Patra, while talking to reporters, said: “This morning, when I read the newspapers, I saw that a well-known and respected English-language newspaper had published a headline regarding the resignation of the Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan."
"The report claimed that during the negotiations and discussions between Union Ministers J.P. Nadda and Dr Jitendra Singh and the representatives of the CJP, the central government had proposed that the Union Education Minister's portfolio would be changed, that he would be made the minister of another department, and that a new Education Minister would take charge today."
However, Patra denied the assertion, claiming that no such idea had ever been discussed.
"The newspaper further reported that the CJP expressed anger over this proposal, did not agree to it, and that, as a result, the respected minister had to resign. Today, as the official spokesperson of the party, after reviewing the entire matter, I want to make it absolutely clear that this report published in a respected English newspaper is completely baseless," he added.
"It is entirely fictional and unfounded. This news has no basis. It has no authenticity and has been published solely to sensationalise the issue."
NDTV had earlier reported that the Centre's first attempt to defuse the CJP protests in Delhi reportedly involved offering to move Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to another ministry instead of removing him from the Cabinet.
However, according to NDTV, which cited sources, the demonstrators rejected the suggestion.
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According to the report, Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh put forward the proposal during talks with CJP representatives at Nadda's residence on July 20.
The meeting took place as police launched a crackdown on protesters marching towards Parliament.
CJP negotiators Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka turned down the offer outright, insisting that nothing less than Pradhan's complete resignation would satisfy the protesters, according to the report.
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