NEW DELHI: BJP MP Sambit Patra on Tuesday dismissed reports claiming that the Centre had proposed a new ministerial portfolio for Dharmendra Pradhan after his resignation as Union education minister during talks with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).The Puri MP and BJP leader said the reports had “no basis” and were published solely to “sensationalise the issue.”Patra’s clarification came after multiple media reports claimed that the Centre had discussed the possibility of assigning a new role to senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan during negotiations with the CJP delegation.Addressing reporters, Patra 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 Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The report claimed that during negotiations between Union ministers Jp Nadda and Dr Jitendra Singh and representatives of the CJP, the central government proposed changing the education minister’s portfolio and assigning him another ministry, with a new education minister set to take charge today. The newspaper further reported that the CJP objected to this proposal and, as a result, the respected minister had to resign.”Patra, however, rejected the claim and said no such proposal had ever been discussed.“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. It is entirely fictional and unfounded. This news has no basis. It has no authenticity and has been published solely to sensationalise the issue,” he said.After more than a month of protests at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and demonstrations across the country over the NEET paper leak, Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union education minister. Hours later, the CJP delegation called off its protest following multiple rounds of talks with Union ministers Jagat Prakash Nadda and Jitendra Singh.
