MOSCOW, September 19 (Itar-Tass) — Member of Russia's State Duma, Ilya Ponomaryov has refuted mass media reports claiming he is going to hand in his parliamentary mandate.

"I was asked on a live TV show one day if I had enough courage to hand in my mandate as a deputy," he said. "I took it out of my pocket and put it on the table in front of their eyes but I did it by way of a joke," he told reporters

He gave the assurances that he does not plan to discard his Duma documents under any circumstances.