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FIR lodged over ‘fake letter’ to Foxconn chairman: Deputy CM
The personal secretary to Shivakumar said that the signature on the letter was forged, and the letterhead used was inauthentic
Bengaluru
Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday said an FIR has been lodged at the cybercrime section of Vidhana Soudha police station over a purported letter by the Congress leader to Foxconn Technology Group chairman to shift the Apple AirPods manufacturing unit from Hyderabad to Karnataka. Shivakumar called the letter fake.
The controversy unfolded as the purported letter circulated widely on social media. Shivakumar alleged that Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao had posted the fake letter on social media platforms and commented on it.
“It is a fake letter. My letter has different characteristics. My letter has numbers. My letterhead will not be in green colour. It is an ordinary legislator’s letter which MLAs used to use some 15 years ago. No MLA is using green-coloured letterhead now. I know that,” Shivakumar said.
Accusing Rao of resorting to deceptive tactics, he said, “The Telangana chief minister had a press conference. He is very scared. He has accepted the defeat of his party.”
Rajendra Prasad MN, the personal secretary to Shivakumar, filed a formal complaint with the Vidhana Soudha police. In the complaint, Prasad said that the signature on the letter was forged, and the letterhead used was inauthentic.
When contacted, Vidhana Soudha police officials refused to give details about the complaint. A police official said on condition of anonymity, “Investigation into the matter has been initiated.”
The disputed two-page letter, allegedly written by Shivakumar and directed to Young Lu, Chairman of Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn Technology Group), read, “On behalf of the government, I propose that you consider relocating the Apple AirPods industry, which you plan to set up in Hyderabad to Bengaluru. This move holds numerous mutual benefits, complementing the Apple phone manufacturing industry and leveraging the city’s transportation facilities, infrastructure, and available workforce.”
Telangana’s minister for information technology and industries K T Rama Rao countered these allegations by claiming that Karnataka’s Congress government was conspiring to lure companies away from Hyderabad to Bengaluru. He asserted that the letters were dispatched to various companies, offering incentives to relocate.
The BRS leader said, “DK Shivakumar wrote a letter to the CEO of the company to move the Foxconn company that manufactures Apple AirPods from Hyderabad to ‘Bangalore’.”
“Karnataka Congress government has hatched a huge conspiracy against Hyderabad. Big conspiracy by Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar to move national and international companies from Hyderabad to Karnataka,” the BRS said in Telugu on its “X” handle.
The BRS alleged that the letters were written to many companies offering incentives to come to Bengaluru.
“DK Shivakumar wrote a letter to the CEO of the company to move the Foxconn company that manufactures Apple AirPods from Hyderabad to ‘Bangalore’. Kannada media released that letter,” the message on “X” said.
The BRS leader said that the letter is an example of what would happen if KCR does not become chief minister for a third term. He said Telangana needs a leader who can safeguard the state’s interests and not the Congress which wants to shift the industries out of Hyderabad.
