Karnataka Congress deletes social media post showing J-K as part of Pakistan, BJP hits back

Responding to the uproar, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar downplayed the issue.

A now-deleted social media post by the Karnataka Congress triggered controversy on Sunday for allegedly featuring a map that showed Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan. 

The post, published on X, was meant to criticise PM Modi’s government for "failing" to prevent a recent IMF loan to Pakistan.(Reuters)

The post, published on X (formerly Twitter), was meant to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for "failing" to prevent a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to Pakistan.

On May 9, the IMF approved an immediate disbursement of about $1 billion to Pakistan under its ongoing Extended Fund Facility. The post came shortly after India's objections to the IMF loan, voiced amid heightened tensions with Pakistan following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which left 26 people dead.

Responding to the uproar, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar downplayed the issue, new agency PTI reported. “It is false. There was a small mistake; we have removed everything... someone has played mischief,” he told reporters. When asked about recurring social media missteps by the party, Shivakumar added, “The people responsible for the posts have been removed,” without offering further details.

The BJP was quick to pounce on the controversy. Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, called the post a “betrayal,” accusing the Congress’ IT cell of acting like a “sleeper cell for Pakistani terrorists.”

“By tweeting a map showing Kashmir as part of Pakistan, Karnataka Congress has once again revealed its fondness for sinful Pakistan,” Ashoka said in a post on X.

He also slammed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s earlier comments—made before Operation Sindhoor—stating that war with Pakistan was unnecessary. “The CM, who initially advocated for peace with Pakistan, changed his stance only after facing public backlash,” he said.

Ashoka further recalled that a separate Congress post calling for peace, which was published shortly after Operation Sindhoor, had also been quietly deleted following criticism.

(With PTI inputs)