Fake Resignation Letter of Kumaraswamy Circulates, CM Blames BJP

A fake letter, claiming to be a resignation note by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, was circulated on Monday, 22 July night.

(Photo: The News Minute)

A fake letter, claiming to be a resignation note by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, was circulated on Monday, 22 July night, adding to the drama at the Karnataka Assembly.

“Due to my personal reasons, I'm tendering my resignation from the post of chief minister of Karnataka. Kindly accept my resignation and relieve the council of the minister of Karnataka appointed by me on 22/07/2019,” the fake letter read.

While the CMO had denied the letter, the Chief Minister himself mentioned the letter on the floor of the assembly on Monday night.

“Look at the kind of politics they (BJP) are perpetrating. They have created a fake resignation letter and the electronic media is showing it. It is on social media,” the CM informed the Speaker during the late night debate.

When BJP members objected to the allegation, the CM said, “What disrespect have we perpetrated? The kind of drama you have done... Congress' Krishna Byre Gowda has revealed your true colours. And you are talking about disrespect?” the Chief Minister asked BJP.

The letter had become viral on WhatsApp groups and on social media. It was shown in various news channels as the letter was kept on Kumaraswamy's table in the assembly. His staff later clarified that the printout of the letter was given to the CM to inform him that such a letter was being circulated.

CM Kumaraswamy had earlier asked the Speaker for two more days to hold the trust vote in the Karnataka Assembly to determine the fate of the coalition government. This, after a prolonged discussion was held on Monday in the Karnataka Assembly in which Congress and JD(S) leaders attempted to reason with the Speaker that the issues pertaining to disqualification and resignations of MLAs be completed.

This is the second fake letter row in Karnataka in the past year. Earlier, the BJP circulated a forged letter, which was also published by Kannada paper Vijayvani, purportedly written by Home Minister MB Patil to Sonia Gandhi, claiming that the two had “conspired to break the Lingayat community in 2017”.

The letter had stated that the only way to increase Congress tally is by dividing Hindus and subsequently uniting Christians and Muslims.

The 15 rebel MLAs of the Congress and the JD(S) have been camping in Maharashtra, including Srimant Patil, who fled from a resort in the city on17 July. The halfway mark of the 224-member House is 112 with the magic number being 113. However, with the rebel MLAs set to miss the trust vote, the halfway mark will come down to 104.

(The story has been published in an arrangement with The News Minute)