I have not been fired: Congress spokesperson

Senior Congress leader and spokesperson Satyavrat Chaturvedi has denied that he has been removed from his post or asked not to hold media briefings.

He said he had been seeing newspaper and television reports to the effect that he has been removed from the party post.

"After reading the stories, I asked Congress general secretary Janardhan Dewedi if there was any order to that effect. When Margaret Alva was removed there was an official notification. The same was done when Yogendra Makwana was removed," Chaturvedi said.

He said he was told that the party had issued no such notification. Even the party's media in charge, Veerappa Moily, did not say anything, Chaturvedi said. "The most interesting thing that I read was that action was taken against me for displeasing Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh. The media should explain who gave them this information," he laughed.

Chaturvedi, however, has not briefed the media since December 2007. "That is true. I have been acting as spokesperson for over seven years and I lost interest. Now I feel that someone else should be given the exposure," he said.