Fact Check: Letter claiming to be issued by AP BJP unit stating support to the TDP bandh is FAKE
The Crime Investigation Department arrested TDP president and ex- Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu in connection with the alleged skill development scam on September 10, 2023.
Claim :
BJP Andhra Pradesh issued a letter stating that it is supporting and participating in the protests organised by TDP in the wake of party chief Chandrababu Naidu’s arrestFact :
BJP Andhra Pradesh issued no such letter, the letter is fake. BJP is not going to participate in the protests to be staged by the TDP
The Crime Investigation Department arrested TDP president and ex-Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu in connection with the alleged skill development scam on September 9, 2023. He was sent to 14-day judicial custody. Protesting against the arrest, the TDP called for a state-wide bandh in Andhra Pradesh. Jana Sena party has issued a letter in support of the TDP, stating that their party is going to support the bandh. AP BJP president D. Purandeswari quickly condemned the arrest of Mr Chandrababu Naidu.
In this situation, a letter in Telugu on the letterhead of BJP Andhra Pradesh is being spread virally on WhatsApp groups with the claim that the Bharatiya Janata Party in Andhra Pradesh is going to support the state-wide bandh called by the TDP.
The letter is published on the party’s letter head which has Bharatiya Janata Party, Andhra Pradesh, with Daggubati Purandeswari, state President printed on the right top corner and also the address of the party office mentioned on it. The date mentioned is September 10, 2023, and place as Vijayawada. The letter reads: “రేపటి టీడీపీ ధర్నాలకు బీజేపీ మద్దత్తు
తెలుగుదేశం పార్టీ జాతీయ అధ్యక్షులు, మాజీ ముఖ్య మంత్రివర్యులు శ్రీ నారా చంద్రబాబు నాయుడి గారి అరెస్టును భారతీయ జనతా పార్టీ తీవ్రంగా ఖండిస్తున్నది. చంద్రబాదు గారికి బీజేపీ తరపున పూర్తి సంఘీభావం తెలుపుతున్నాము. రేపు అనగా 11.09.2023 రోజున తెలుగుదేశం పార్టీ నిర్వహించబోయే రాష్ట్ర వ్యాప్త ధర్నాలకు భారతీయ జనతా పార్టీ పూర్తి మద్దత్తు తెలుపుతున్నది. కావున బీజేపీ శ్రణులు ఈ ధర్నాలలో పాల్గొని చంద్రబాబు గారికి సంఘీభావం తెలపాలని మనవి.”
The letter has been signed by Smt Daggubati Purandeswari, BJP Andhra Pradesh President.
When translated claims “BJP supports tomorrow's TDP dharna. The Bharatiya Janata Party strongly condemns the arrest of Telugu Desam Party National President and former Chief Minister Shri Nara Chandrababu Naidu. On behalf of the BJP, we express full solidarity with Chandrababu. Bharatiya Janata Party is extending its full support to the state-wide dharnas to be organized by the Telugu Desam Party tomorrow i.e. 11.09.2023. Therefore, we request the BJP ranks to participate in these sit-ins and show solidarity with Chandrababu.”
The news that BJP Andhra Pradesh is supporting the bandh has been carried by a few media outlets too.
Fact Check:
The claim is false. The BJP Andhra Pradesh is not supporting the protests being carried out by the TDP on September 11, 2023.
When we used Google reverse image search and searched for the letter issued by the BJP Andhra Pradesh, we found that the BJP AP unit has refuted the claims.
X (Twitter) account of AP BJP issued a clarification that the letter viral in its name is false. The caption states that “తెలుగుదేశం పార్టీ ఇచ్చిన రేపటి బంద్ పిలుపుకు మద్దతు ఇచ్చినట్లుగా ఒక బిజెపి లెటర్ హెడ్ పై నేను మద్దతు పలికినట్లు ఒక ఫేక్ లెటర్ వాట్స్ ప్ గ్రూప్ లలో సర్క్యులేట్ అవుతోంది. ఈ ఫేక్ లెటర్ సర్క్యులేట్ కు కారకుల పై చర్యలు తీసుకోవాలని సైబర్ క్రైమ్ పోలీసులు కు ఫిర్యాదు చేస్తాము. - శ్రీమతి @
When translated, it states “A fake letter on BJP letterhead is circulating in WhatsApp groups that the BJP is supporting tomorrow's bandh call given by Telugu Desam Party, signed by me. We will file a complaint with the cybercrime police to take action against those responsible for circulating this fake letter. - Mrs. @PurandeswariBJP Garu”
This clarification was also shared by AP BJP Mahila Morcha state social media convenor Vijaya Lakshmi on X.
AP BJP president Purandeswari also stated that the party is filing a complaint with the cybercrime police seeking action against those responsible for the circulation of the fake letter.
Hence, the letter claiming to be issued by AP BJP in support of TDP protests is fake. The claim that AP BJP is supporting these protests is false.
