‘Silly rumour,’ says Ramya after media speculates her departure as Cong social media chief

New Delhi: Congress' social media in-charge Divya Spandana, aka Ramya, set aside rumours suggesting that she has either resigned or been sacked from her post when the description on her Twitter bio changed.

"Actor, Former Member of Parliament and currently handles social media and digital communication for Congress": that’s what her Twitter bio read after the actor-turned-politician was picked by Congress President Rahul Gandhi this May to lead the party’s campaign on social and digital media—a front that was seen in absolute control of the BJP.

However, her Twitter bio remained mysteriously blank for hours on Wednesday. The deleted description sent the media houses into a frenzy, with many speculating whether the Congress firebrand has called it quits—or, has decided to join the BJP.

“It’s silly,” Ramya told a newspaper, brushing aside all speculations of her resignation. She blamed a "bug issue" for the missing bio, and clarified that she hasn’t stepped down but is on leave.

Ramya, who is a prolific tweeter, had been inactive for three straight days since September 29, and only retweeted once today after all that hysteria around her social account.

She was recently caught in the midst of controversy when she had drawn a comparison of the right-wing organization, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) with Muslim Brotherhood. Moreover, last week, she was charged with sedition after she labelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘chor’ (a thief).

Ramya, an active Twitter user who contested and lost the 2014 polls from Mandya, is a rank outsider of sorts in a party where leadership is encircled by impermeable concentric rings. She was appointed in 2017 to bring about a change in the way the grand old party of India communicates.

And sure, she has. From countering trolls and fake news with data and gifs and videos, Ramya is breaching the same virtual world that BJP did to woo voters in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, Congress termed the reports of Ramya’s stepping down as AICC social media incharge as “wholly incorrect”. “These reports are wholly incorrect,” Randeep Singh Surjewala, in-charge of the AICC Communications Department said.