Though US President Joe Biden has put his foot down and vowed to defeat the Republican challenger in ensuing polls, there is clamour within the Democrats for a ‘change of guard’ owing to the former’s age.

As reports of a telephonic conversation surfaced between Rahul Gandhi and Kamala Harris, a couple of Congress supporters and loyalists expressed joy over the party MP’s growing international stature while some others claimed that it was a courtesy call from the US Vice-President on Rahul becoming Leader of Opposition (LoP).

However, the fake claim stands debunked now. The office of US V-P has denied any such phone conversation and termed the news as ‘inaccurate’, confirmed a senior US-based scribe.

“This news is inaccurate as per the office of the US Vice President. Kamala Harris has not spoken with Rahul Gandhi,” he said in a tweet.

Though social media was abuzz about Rahul-Kamala's telephonic conversation, Congress handles didn’t either confirm or deny the news. However, the deliberate projection of Rahul’s ‘significance’ in US presidential polls by certain social media accounts, with a noted affinity for the party, raises questions about the spread of fake news and also calls for a mechanism to contain it.

According to a New York Times report, Indian-origin Kamala Harris is actively considering the prospects of running for the top position and is also discussing the possible names of those who can be her running mate.