Karnataka Congress's post showing J&K in Pakistan stirs controversy
The post elicited a sharp reaction from the opposition BJP and had the Congress on the backfoot and on damage control.
The Congress stirred up a controversy when a map showing Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan showed up in a social media post of the Karnataka unit of party.
The post elicited a sharp reaction from the opposition BJP and had the Congress on the backfoot and on damage control. Follow India-Pakistan live updates
The post on microblogging platform 'X', which has now been deleted by the ruling party in the state, was intended to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for "failing" to stop the International Monetary Fund(IMF) loan to Pakistan.
The IMF on May 9 approved the immediate disbursement of about $1 billion to Pakistan under the ongoing Extended Fund Facility. The total amount went up to $2.3 billion.
The loan was approved while the conflict between India and Pakistan was still going on, and the Indian Forces were repelling attacks through drones and missiles from across the border. The conflict began after India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people on April 22.
Congress defends while the BJP attacks
The Karnataka Congress President and deputy chief minister, DK Shivakumar, said everything was removed when questioned about the post
"It is false. There was a small mistake; we have removed everything. Someone has played mischief," he was quoted by PTI as saying.
Asked about repeated goof-ups on the party's social media handle, Shivakumar said, "The people responsible for the posts have been removed," without revealing more.
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and BJP leader R Ashoka also reacted to the post and said that by tweeting a map showing Kashmir as belonging to Pakistan, Karnataka Congress had once again demonstrated its affection for "sinful" Pakistan.
"Overall, there is no doubt that the IT cell of the Karnataka Congress party is a sleeper cell for Pakistani terrorists," he said in a post on 'X'.
Ashoka also pointed to chief minister Siddaramaiah’s earlier "no need for war" comments, made well before Operation Sindhoor.
"The CM, who had advocated in favour of Pakistan, changed his stance after public outrage,” he said. He further noted that a Congress social media post calling for peace, published just hours after Operation Sindhoor, was also deleted amid public anger.
