Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday denied that he used the phrase "when a big tree falls, ground shakes" along a photograph of Rajiv Gandhi on his Twitter handle while paying tribute to the former prime minister on his death anniversary.

Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, claimed his account was hacked as he was delivering a speech at a party office in West Bengal's Murshidabad district when the social media post was made.