Senior Congress MLA B.R. Patil on Tuesday claimed that the Opposition BJP had “manufactured a fake letterhead” and circulated a letter in his name to create a rift between district in-charge Minister Priyank Kharge and him.
The fake letter, which was purportedly signed by 11 MLAs, including Mr. Patil, was circulated widely on social media. It said that Ministers in the Congress government have been demanding money for sanction of funds for constituency-related work. The Opposition BJP circulated the letterhead in his name to bring bad name to the government, Mr. Patil said.
The letter has surfaced ahead of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting called on Thursday by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, to hear the grievances of legislators.
Mr. Patil said he would file a complaint with the police seeking a probe into the circulation of the fake letter in his name. “It’s not my letterhead,” Mr. Patil asserted.
“Ministers have been demanding money for sanction of funds for the constituency-related work,” stated the fake letter addressed to the Chief Minister. It said that over 20 Ministers are not responding to demands regarding constituency work.
Meanwhile, Mr. Siddaramaiah and his Deputy D.K. Shivakumar ruled out any disgruntlement within the ruling Congress. Both of them, in separate statements, said the legislature party meeting has been called as part of a routine exercise to discuss various programmes and policies of the government, and to ensure coordination between government and party MLAs. “Neither me nor the CM have received any letter,” said Mr. Shivakumar.
