No, Digvijaya Singh has not quit Congress; fake resignation letter viral

by Abira Das

Ahead of the 2023 assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, a picture of a purported resignation letter by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has gone viral on social media. Social media users have shared the picture claiming that Singh has resigned from the party citing various reasons.

X ( (formerly Twitter) user @maheshyagyasain shared the picture with the caption, “मध्यप्रदेश में कांग्रेस का बड़ा विकेट गिरा,दिग्गी राजा हिट विकेट आउट.” The tweet has 7,035 views, 186 likes and 87 reposts. (Archive)

Madhya Pradesh will go to the polls on November 17, 2023.

The resignation letter is addressed to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. It says:

“Subject: Regarding resignation from primary membership of Congress.

In my political journey of five decades, I had many experiences while being in Congress. I made the journey from an ordinary worker to the chief minister of the state while being in Congress. The party elevated me from national general secretary to an important position like Rajya Sabha member, for which I will be grateful throughout my life. But for the last few months, I am hurt to see the disappointment of the top leadership towards the loyal workers, and indifference towards policy and leadership. In Madhya Pradesh, instead of being a worker-centric party, the party has now become specific leader-centric. This I find uncomfortable. The names given by me have not been considered in the selection of candidates for the Madhya Pradesh elections. It has hurt my self-respect since preference has not been given to loyal workers. I have now reached a stage where I feel I can no longer live in such an unjust environment. I express my gratitude to all those who have supported me in my various party roles over the years. With a heavy heart, I announce my decision to end my association with the party. I resign from all posts including primary membership of the Congress. Accept it.”

A verified account on X, @OBC_MP, shared the resignation letter with the caption, “It is absolutely true that Digvijay Singh threatened the Congress party and Congress got scared. OBC class has been sidelined at the behest of Digvijay Singh by the threat of resignation, but OBC Mahasabha will now tell how Thakurism and Brahminism win. Digvijay Singh is an anti-OBC leader. These OBCs will not allow caste census to be conducted and will not allow them to give their share. Because of Digvijay Singh, Congress has given less seats to OBC category. Upper caste: 53 [Thakur: 25 Brahmin: 15 Other upper caste: 13] Dalit tribal: 52 OBC: 39 There is no social justice character left in Congress Party” The tweet has over 4,426 views, 217 likes and 83 retweets. (Archive)

Fact Check

At first glance, the resignation letter looks fake as there is a significant difference between the text of the letter and the letterhead, in terms of clarity and sharpness. While the Ashok Stambh and Singh’s details on the top of the letter are smudged and unclear, the text below is exceptionally clear.

As soon as the picture of the resignation letter went viral, Digvijaya Singh refuted the claim of his resignation and accused the BJP of lying. He said, “BJP @BJP4India is expert in lying. I took membership of Congress in 1971. I joined the Congress not for the post but because I was influenced by the ideology and I will remain in Congress till the last breath of my life. I am filing a police complaint against this lie. ⁦@INCIndia @DGP_MP.”

In a statement to PTI, Singh stated, “I am favourite of the BJP and RSS. False statements against me, fake letters in my name, and defaming me by editing my statements is their hobby. I have time and against lodged complaints with the MP Cyber Police, but they act as BJP’s agents. We are not worried; we will fight and win.”

We found that Madhya Pradesh Congress had also lodged a written complaint with the cyber cell of the state police seeking action against BJP spokesperson Hitesh Vajpayee.

According to PTI, an FIR was subsequently registered against an unidentified person. ACP Sujeet Tiwari told PTI, “We have registered a case under sections 469 (Forgery for purpose of harming reputation) and 501 (Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory) of the Indian Penal Code against an unidentified person and launched an investigation to zero in on him.”

We also found that Singh’s legal team had written to the chief election officer and the state election officer of Madhya Pradesh requesting them to “take actions that are appropriate and necessary towards the act of spreading hate, lies with intention to tarnish image of Shri Digvijaya Singh ji in view of upcoming elections.”

To sum up, a forged resignation letter of Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has gone viral on social media with the claim that Singh has resigned from the party. The document is fake. Digvijaya Singh has not resigned from Congress and an FIR has been filed in relation to this case.
Abira Das is an intern at Alt News.

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