On 19th January (Monday), Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal stated that a First Information Report (FIR) has been filed following the circulation of a bogus letter with his official letterhead and a phoney signature in the poll-bound state of Assam.
He took to social media and highlighted, “This constitutes a serious criminal offence involving forgery, impersonation, and misuse of official government identity, apparently aimed at spreading misinformation and discrediting a constitutional authority.” The minister informed that “law enforcement agencies have been requested to investigate the case on priority and take strict legal action against those responsible.”
The issue was immediately flagged as he cautioned, remarking, “The said letter and its contents are completely fake and fabricated. The public and media are advised not to rely on or circulate such fraudulent material and to verify information only through official sources.”
⚠️ ALERT⚠️
— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) January 19, 2026
🚨 Official Statement 🚨
It has come to my notice that a forged letter bearing the official letterhead and fake signature of Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is being circulated by miscreants with malafide intent.
This constitutes a serious criminal offence… pic.twitter.com/zB3coKBYyL
According to reports, Congress was planning to utilise the latter before this year’s much-anticipated assembly elections in Assam. However, it was swiftly called out and reported to the authorities by Sonowala and now action will be taken against the perpetrators.
Assam: A fake letter under the name of @sarbanandsonwal over the distribution of tickets ahead of the 2026 elections is doing rounds on the internet.
— aboyob bhuyan (@aboyobbhuyan) January 19, 2026
Congress was allegedly supposed to pick up this issue and circulate this letter.
However, (funny enough), the BJP IT Cell posted… pic.twitter.com/gN7KmiUY08
The 15th January letter was written to the national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party. It claimed to identify significant administrative and political difficulties in Assam before the polls and cited alleged problems including corruption, bad governance, law and order issues, unemployment, price increases and abuse of authority. It added that the population is largely unhappy with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s government.
The letter went on to assert that these challenges have weakened the party’s cadre basis and undermined public confidence by causing growing resentment at the local level. It asserted that the party is unlikely to secure more than a limited range of 35-40 seats throughout the entire state and is on the brink of losing the elections.
