"His job is to spread misinformation, fake news": Priyank Kharge slams Amit Malviya over distorted map row

Belagavi (Karnataka) [India], December 26 (ANI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday dismissed allegations by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Malviya that a "distorted" map of India was used in Belagavi, stating that Malviya's role is to spread misinformation and fake news.
Kharge emphasised that the Congress party has its official poster, which is widely available, accusing the BJP of diverting attention from pressing issues affecting the public, instead focusing on non-issues like this.
"Amit Malviya is nothing but a troll. His job is to spread misinformation and fake news. If a private individual puts up something, how does it become Congress' official poster? Congress has an official poster which is everywhere... Let them talk about pertinent issues that bother the public. But they will only talk about such issues. And these people call themselves nationalists," he said.
In a post on X, Malviya claimed that the Congress party had displayed a distorted map of India at the Belagavi convention as part of their "appeasement politics."
"Sonia Gandhi, as co-president of the George Soros-funded Forum of Democratic Leaders in Asia Pacific (FDL-AP) Foundation, which advocates Kashmiri independence, is not a coincidence, but a firm belief of the Congress," he said.
"At its Belagavi event, the Congress put up a distorted map of India on all its hoardings, along with pictures of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Vadra, among others, showing Kashmir as part of Pakistan. It can't be a mistake. It is a statement. It is part of their appeasement politics, which believes Indian Muslims are more loyal to Pakistan than India... The Congress is the new Muslim League. It wants to break India, again," the BJP leader added.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA NA Haris stated that the posters displaying the alleged 'distorted' map of India in Belagavi were a "mistake" and have been removed.
"You know the BJP. It happened due to oversight, not purposely. They have even removed it (the poster featuring the map)... It was a mistake, and now it (the poster featuring the map) has been removed. What do they (BJP) want to do now? They have no other work to do," he said.
Congress spokesperson Nizam Foujdar said that the BJP does not want peace and progress in the country.
"With their tweet today, BJP and Amit Malviya's factory of lies has shown that they don't know history. They don't want peace and progress in the country," he said.
Congress is holding its CWC meeting on December 26 and 27 in Belagavi to celebrate the centenary of the 1924 session of the party. (ANI)