Benagluru/New Delhi: News agency Press Trust of India (PTI) on Wednesday, August 5, apologised to Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge, admitting it had misrepresented his remark on the police constable recruitment examination in the state, describing it as a ‘human error’.
PTI Editor (Visual Media) Shazi Zaman also apologised, calling it a “misunderstanding and unfortunate”
“This is regarding the misunderstanding caused over your remarks to the media on August 3, 2026. It is unfortunate that a human error at our end resulted in such a misunderstanding. We have taken corrective steps, including rectifying the mistake as well as seeking an explanation from the person concerned. We apologise for the error. We hope you would consider this matter as closed,” the letter said.
Although PTI has withdrawn its post, Kharge is not happy.
“The damage has already been done. What is the use of your apology?” read his X post.
On August 2, Karnataka youth boycotted the police constable recruitment examination over alleged delays in distributing question papers and irregularities in the handling of question papers and OMR sheets. Several of them took to the streets protesting against the state government, demanding a re-examination.
The Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded Priyank Kharge’s resignation.
The following day, the IT Minister, during a media interaction, was asked to respond to the BJP’s demands. “Yeah, I will resign. Let them first… 25 days, let them go on hunger strike. Then if they don’t control, we will do one lathicharge, and then I will resign. Just like how they did for this thing…” he had said.
On students’ accusation of delays and OMR discrepancies, Kharge said it was a “small misunderstanding” and only a small group of students walked out of the examination halls.
“It is just a handful of them who thought it was necessary and they walked out, despite us telling them that once you walk out, you cannot come back in. When they realised what they had done was not wise, they wanted to come back. But once you leave the premises with the OMR sheets, you cannot come back in. Let us see what can be done about that,” he had said.
PTI, however, misinterpreted the Minister’s remark, referring to the recent Jantar Mantar student protests on alleged irregularities and the then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
“Mr Priyank Kharge’s statement was misinterpreted, and the word ‘aspirants’ was inadvertently ascribed to him in an earlier X post (August 3, 2026). We have withdrawn the post. The error is deeply regretted,” PTI said on X.
Kharge responded, saying, “Damage is done”
“Who is going to undo the damage now? How many creators can realistically be held accountable for spreading misinformation once it has gone viral?” he asked, adding that “responsible journalism is increasingly becoming a myth in India.”
This post was last modified on August 5, 2026 10:33 pm