BJP demands probe into 'letterhead racket' in Karnataka CMO

Bengaluru: BJP general secretary V Sunil Kumar on Saturday demanded an investigation into what he said could be a "letterhead racket" inside Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's office.

Kumar, the Karkala MLA, was reacting to the chief minister's office asking the police to investigate what it said was a "fake" letter with Siddaramaiah's letterhead and signature, ordering the transfer of a health officer to the excise department.

"How is the CMO functioning if a letter signed by the CM is fake?" Kumar asked.

"Like Siddaramaiah, I'm in public life as well. I'm a responsible lawmaker in the Opposition. I believe the letter, which I shared on social media, to be real, and that it was an example of how this government has derailed," he said.

Kumar asked why Siddaramaiah signed an undated letter. "It won't be surprising if this is a part of a 'letterhead' racket. Who got him to sign it? Did they profit from it? This must be investigated instead of killing the messenger," he said.

On Friday, Siddaramaiah said a viral letter from him ordering the transfer of Mandya district health officer Dr K Mohan as the excise deputy commissioner in Mysuru Rural was "fake" and warned against its spread. "In this era of Photoshop / AI, sharing WhatsApp information without verifying its authenticity is also a crime," he said.

Kumar, however, was not impressed. "Before declaring the letter as fake," he said, "there must be an investigation into the 'letterhead' scam."