Bengaluru: Siddaramaiah's letter to AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge went viral on social media. The opposition leader in Karnataka is furious over the fake letter going viral. Blaming on BJP, Siddaramaiah said it was the handiwork of the saffron party. "The BJP is frustrated fearing its defeat in the Assembly polls, which are slated for May 10. Hence, they (BJP leaders) are circulating a fake letter spreading slander against me. I had not written any such letter," said Siddaramaiah.
Speaking further, he said, "Congress party workers and supporters should not fall prey to this false propaganda. My relationship with DK Shivakumar is cordial." Siddaramaiah tweeted that he will lodge a complaint with the police and seek action against those who were responsible for circulating a "mischievous letter."
What was in the letter? "We worked (campaigned) together well for the last year under the guidance of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's team. Congress leader DK Shivakumar was creating confusion among my followers. DK Shivakumar was provoking his followers to raise slogans in front of the people that he was the next Chief Minister of the state. All decisions were taken unilaterally. I decided to contest the Karnataka assembly polls from two constituencies as per the Congress party's wish. DK Sivakumar was successful in avoiding the Kolar ticket. My desire to bring the Congress party to power in the state is being thwarted." This was the content of the letter that Siddaramaiah shot off to Mallikarjuna Kharge. However, Siddaramaiah has been terming the letter 'fake'.
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The letter further stated that "Congress leader DK Shivakumar rendered injustice to the OBC category aspirants, who were seeking tickets to contest the assembly polls. Raghu Achar, who was a strong contender for the Chitradurga seat, but Sivakumar was successful in denying the ticket because Achar was my disciple. Another OBC ticket aspirant from Tarikeri, Gopikrishna, was also denied a ticket. Shivakumar made efforts to deny a ticket to Puttaranga Shetty, who is the candidate from Chamarajanagar constituency." "The recent developments in the state Congress were very disturbing. Our intention was to sweep the elections and bring the Congress party to power with an absolute majority. I was unhappy with the decision taken by DK Shivakumar," stated the letter.
