A political storm erupted in Karnataka after the state Congress unit posted an incorrect map of India on social media, mistakenly depicting Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan. The map appeared in a post aimed at criticising the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for extending a loan to Pakistan but quickly backfired due to the sensitive cartographic error.
The tweet was swiftly deleted after being flagged by netizens and political opponents. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar addressed the issue, calling it a “minor error” and attributing the mistake to “mischief” by individuals managing the social media content.
“Nobody can remove Kashmir from the map. Someone has done mischief. Everyone involved in that mistake has been removed. I have sacked those who were handling the matter,” Shivakumar said in a statement to the press.
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The controversy has reached the attention of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), raising further concerns for the party’s leadership.
This incident mirrors a similar controversy in December 2024 during the Congress Working Committee’s centennial celebration in Belagavi. Back then, promotional banners carrying distorted maps with missing parts of Jammu and Kashmir drew widespread criticism. The BJP had lashed out, labeling it “shameful” and accusing the Congress of pandering to vote-bank politics.
BJP leaders once again condemned the latest post, alleging it was part of a larger pattern. Some even went so far as to link the incident to billionaire philanthropist George Soros, accusing Congress of being influenced by foreign agendas.
The BJP has demanded that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah take strict action and ensure that no such errors recur in the future. “It’s not a small mistake when it involves national integrity,” said a BJP spokesperson.
The Congress party now finds itself on the defensive, with repeated map-related blunders threatening to dent its credibility ahead of key elections.
