# PTI apologises to Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge over misreported remarks 2026-08-05T23:15:57+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk Press Trust of India apologised on Wednesday, August 5, to Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge for misquoting his August 3 remarks on a police constable recruitment exam, calling the error human error and saying it had withdrawn the post and taken corrective steps, Siasat reported. PTI's editor of visual media, Shazi Zaman, separately called the episode a misunderstanding and unfortunate. Kharge responded on X that the damage had already been done and questioned the use of the apology. The dispute traces back to an August 2 walkout by candidates protesting delays and alleged irregularities with question papers and OMR sheets during the exam, over which the Karnataka BJP had demanded Kharge's resignation. Kharge had dismissed the walkouts as a small misunderstanding involving only a handful of students, and said those who left the hall with OMR sheets could not be allowed back in. ## Indian Opinion Analysis PTI's apology, the withdrawal of its post and Shazi Zaman's description of the episode as an unfortunate misunderstanding are all matters of record, which puts them on firmer footing than Kharge's follow-on claim that the damage still stands despite the correction, a claim Siasat's report does not itself quantify. The apology sits inside the larger, unresolved dispute over the August 2 walkout, where candidates' complaints about OMR sheets and the Karnataka BJP's resignation demand remain separate from the misreporting question the apology addressed. The August 2 walkout dispute, with the OMR-sheet complaints and the Karnataka BJP's resignation demand still open, is where this runs next. ## Coverage - www.siasat.com Tags: Press Trust of India, Priyank Kharge Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/what-use-is-your-apology-kharge-slams-pti-for-misreporting/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/what-use-is-your-apology-kharge-slams-pti-for-misreporting/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.