Energy Minister of Karnataka DK Shivakumar
Karnataka's Energy Minister- DK ShivakumarTwitter

The official Twitter handle of Bharatiya Janata Party, Karnataka has called out Congress ministers DK brothers --Shivakumar and Suresh, in a series of tweets for spreading fake news. 

"Popularly known for corruption & massive increase in assets after entering politics the DK brothers are desperately feeding fake narratives to media about Karnataka BJP trying to influence IT & ED by releasing fake letters of BSY in press conference stays exposed," the Karnataka BJP Twitter handle tweeted.

However, DK Suresh alleged that BJP was targeting them and the brothers were part of 'politics of revenge', reports Deccan Herald. Karnataka Congress MP DK Suresh said that he along with his brother DK Shivakumar might also be facing jail time.

It all started when Suresh had released a copy of a document from 2017 allegedly written by Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa to the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes Sushil Chandra, requesting action against the DK brothers for 'irregularities and corruption'.

However, BJP hit back claiming that the document was fake and was photoshopped.

BJP's claims

While comparing the two documents, the BJP says :

  • The right-hand top corner had the designation 'former Chief Minister' missing.
  • The party alleged that in the original document, the address mentions Delhi but the photoshopped image has a Bengaluru address.
  • The photoshopped Bengaluru address has a Shivamoga phone number.
  • The email address of BSY in the photoshopped image reads with the 'B' in capital letters but the original has a 'b' written in lower case.
  • BJP claimed that the official document has Yeddyurappa's signature on the right while his signature on the photoshopped document is on the left.

In 2017, the IT department raided DK Shivakumar's office and 80 properties linked to the brothers. The Deccan Herald report said that the I-T department had filed four prosecution cases against DK Suresh. He represents rural Bengaluru in the Lok Sabha.

"I got a CBI notice 10 days ago. I went to their office and answered all their questions. We are cooperating with the central agencies. We will face arrests if it comes to that. We will face whatever comes our way. There's no question of yielding to pressure. We have faith in the judiciary and the Constitution", DK Suresh claimed, according to the Deccan Herald.

The Congress leader then went on to say "My brother is not the lone target of the BJP in Karnataka. There are two-three others, whose names I will not disclose now. Besides using pressure tactics, the BJP is also indulging in horse trading. They have made offers to seven MLAs, asking them to jump ship."

The DK brothers played a very important role during Karnataka elections and the JD(S)-Congress coalition in May. They kept Congress ministers away from the BJP, who were reportedly trying to poach ministers at the time of floor test.

 (International Business Times, India has tweeted to DK Shivakumar for a comment and is awaiting a reply)