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As Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah patted his own back for the state bagging two "world records", including one for the most women availing free bus rides, social media users were quick to put a brake on the celebrations. Hawk-eyed users on X pointed that the certificates by London Book of World Records (LBWR) were not genuine as the firm was dissolved earlier this year.
For the Congress government, the joy turned into despair faster than it takes traffic to clear on Bengaluru's roads. Despite the dubious claims being flagged on social media, Siddaramaiah's post was deleted after almost two hours - enough time for users to troll the government.
In the post, Siddaramaiah announced that the government's 'Shakti Scheme' was certified by the London Book of World Records for the highest number of free bus rides availed by women at 564.10 crore.
He also claimed the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) was "recognised" by the LBWR with 464 national and international honours since 1997.
However, contributors on X quickly pointed out that LBWR, a private company in the UK, was dissolved on July 15, 2025, according to the UK Companies House.
Links to the official registry were shared online, raising questions about the certificate’s legitimacy.
Some users mocked apparent inconsistencies and lax editing in the certificates, such as mismatched references to “record” and “records”.
Others pointed to the awkward language and formatting errors, with one commenter posting, “Someone in Karol Bagh has drafted it,” implying the document might have originated from within India and not from a reputed UK institution.
Leaders of the opposition, including BJP’s CT Ravi, seized on the controversy, equating the certificate to a forgery and accusing the Congress-led state government of falling for or leveraging a dubious validation for political gain.
“This certificate looks as fake as the Congress Government itself!” he declared in a post tagging Siddaramaiah.
BJP leader Amit Malviya also weighed in, calling it a “BIG embarrassment for Congress.” “Someone literally conned the Congress,” he wrote on X, pointing to spelling and grammatical errors in the document.
“Worse, the company was dissolved in July 2025, and the page is now apparently being run from Chuna Mandi, Paharganj, Delhi, under the name London Book of World Records!” Malviya added, quipping, “Only the Congress could fall for this level of scam within a scam.”
