A letter purportedly released by former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh announcing his resignation from the Congress party is going viral on social media.
This comes ahead of the 2023 Assembly Elections in Madhya Pradesh that are scheduled to be held on 17 November.
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X/Screenshot)
How did we find out the truth?: We checked Singh's X (formerly Twitter) account and found a post shared on 15 October where he denied the allegations about his resignation.
He shared the viral letter and stated that he joined Congress in 1971 and that he intends to remain a Congress member until his last days.
He also shared the complaint letter registered by the Madhya Pradesh Congress committee and it was addressed to the Deputy Commissioner of Police at Bhopal Cyber Cell.
In this letter, the Congress party accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Hitesh Vajpayee and alleged that he disseminated the 'fake letter' on social media.
We also found a report by news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) about Singh issuing a complaint about this 'fake letter'.
It states that the Cyber police has registered an FIR against an unidentified person for the 'fake letter'.
Cyber crime ACP Sujeet Tiwari told PTI that they have registered a case under sections 469 (Forgery for the purpose of harming reputation) and 501 (Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory) of the Indian Penal Code against an unidentified person.
On 16 October, Singh told PTI, "I am favourite of the BJP and RSS. False statements against me, fake letters in my name, and defaming me by editing my statements is their hobby. I have time and against lodged complaints with the MP Cyber Police, but they act as BJP’s agents."
Conclusion: A fake letter is going viral on social media to claim that Digvijaya Singh is resigning from the Congress Party.
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