Fact Check: Fake letter from Karnataka Congress minister MB Patil resurfaces
Amid the 2024 General Elections, a fake letter dated 2017, addressed to Sonia Gandhi from Karnataka minister MB Patil has gone viral again.
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 30 May 2024 3:09 PM GMT
Claim: Congress leader MB Patil wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi outlining a ‘Divide Hindus–Unite Muslims’ strategy to win the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.
Fact: The claim is false. The letter is fake.
Hyderabad: A photo of a letter, allegedly written by Karnataka Congress leader and minister Dr MB Patil to Sonia Gandhi on July 10, 2017, is being circulated on social media. Those sharing the letter claim that it reveals a ‘Divide Hindus–Unite Muslims’ strategy adopted by the Congress for winning elections in Karnataka.
The letter appears to be drafted on the letterhead of the Bijapur Lingayat District Educational Association (BLDEA) of which Dr MB Patil serves as the president.
The letter claimed that Patel, along with several ministers, held a comprehensive discussion with representatives from the Global Christian Council (GCC) and the World Islamic Organisation (WIO) regarding the strategy to be implemented for the 2018 elections to the Karnataka Assembly.
“This can be achieved by uniting the Muslims and Christians on the basis of their faith: divide the Hindus on the basis of caste/sub-caste and sect and sub/sect,” the letter said.
“To achieve this objective, it was decided that we use the difference prevailing in the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community and announce sops for Muslims and Christians in our budget and later in the election manifesto,” it read.
The last line of the letter read, “We assure you that the Congress will win the Assembly elections in 2018 by adopting this Divide-Hindus–Unite-Muslims strategy. We need your blessings and guidance.”
An X user shared the letter on May 29, 2024, and wrote, “Look carefully at the extent of Congress’ malice. Karnataka Congress minister MB Patil has explicitly written in his letter to Sonia Gandhi that if you want to defeat BJP, then divide the Hindus, and to do this, help was taken from Global Christian Council & World Islamic Org. (sic)”
Another X user shared the letter on May 23, 2024, with the caption, “Look carefully to what extent the Congress can stoop to. Karnataka Congress minister MB Patil has clearly written in his letter to Sonia Gandhi that if you want to defeat BJP, then divide the Hindus. And to do this, help was taken from Global Christian Council and World Islamic Organisation. (Translated from Hindi)”
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Fact Check
Newsmeter found that the claim is false as the letter is fake.
A reverse image search of the letter revealed that the letter was initially published by the news portal Postcard, ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections in May 2018, as a massive expose.
However, once the letter went viral, MB Patil sought legal action stating that the letter is fake.
He posted the original letterhead of BLDEA along with the one in the viral letter on his X and Facebook accounts debunking the claim. Additionally, he posted photos of him filing a complaint with the police, accompanied by the caption: “This letter is FAKE. I will be initiating legal action for forgery against those who produced and published it. BJP’s desperation is evident. They are wholly relying on fake letters because they have lost the support of people.”
Patil also held a press conference to dismiss the letter and the claims in it.
Karnataka Congress tweeted the video of the press conference on April 16, 2019, with the caption: “The letter is FAKE. Initiating legal action for forgery against those who produced and published it. Will pursue this matter to its logical legal conclusion, even to the Supreme Court if need be, against all those who are involved.”
Surprisingly, the X account of BJP Karnataka which shared the letter in 2019 claiming that it ‘exposes Congress’ still has the post on its account.
According to an NDTV report titled ‘Postcard News Co-Founder Arrested Again, Charged With Spreading Fake News’, Postcard news co-founder Mahesh Vikram Hegde was arrested in 2019. The report mentioned the letter and Patil’s police complaint against it.
Letter resurfaces every year
Despite the letter being identified as fabricated and its perpetrators being penalised, it resurfaces on social media every year. Posts from various users in 2018 on Facebook and in 2021 and 2022 on X have shared the letter.
Hence, the claim that MB Patil wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi outlining a ‘Divide Hindus–Unite Muslims’ strategy for winning elections in Karnataka is false.
