Senior Congress MLA and Deputy Chairman of the State Policy and Planning Commission, BR Patil, has said that he stands by the allegations of corruption in housing allotments that he made a few days ago.
Speaking to the media at his residence in Kalaburagi on Sunday, June 22, Patil said, “Yes, it is my voice in the clip. I don’t know who leaked it, but I have spoken the truth, and I stand by every word. Truth will ultimately prevail.”
A phone conversation purportedly between Patil and Sarfaraz Khan, the private secretary to Housing and Minority Welfare Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, had triggered a political storm when it was leaked.
In the audio, Patil can be heard accusing officials of taking bribes for house allotments under the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation Ltd, and warning that “if I open my mouth, the government will be shaken.”
Patil says nearly 950 houses were allotted through corrupt means in his Aland constituency and nearby areas, with recommendation letters from MLAs allegedly being ignored unless bribes were paid.
“You’ll never get direct proof of bribery,” Patil says in the recording, adding that large numbers of houses were being allotted across regions in a questionable manner.
The opposition BJP reacted swiftly, with former Aland MLA Subhash Guttedar demanding a judicial inquiry by a sitting High Court judge. He accused Patil of using such revelations to pressure the Congress high command and secure a cabinet berth in an expected reshuffle.
“If a proper probe is conducted, the truth about bribes and misuse of power in Aland will come out. RK Patil (BR Patil’s nephew) is the one really running the show, collecting money through agents,” Guttedar alleged.
He also alleged that many houses were allotted based on recommendations from Congress-affiliated gram panchayat presidents, further deepening suspicions of favouritism and irregularities.
Dismissing Guttedar’s statements, Patil said, “If I were into dirty politics or blackmail, I wouldn’t have lost elections several times. I’m not angling for a cabinet post—I’m exposing what I’ve seen.”
He also clarified the context of the phone call, saying his original purpose in contacting Sarfaraz Khan was to enquire about the Rs 17 crore that had been sanctioned for Moulana Azad School in Aland taluk by the Minority Welfare Department without informing him. The Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB) had also recently released funds for the same school, Patil said, adding that he had no prior knowledge of these allocations.
Despite the gravity of the claims, Patil confirmed that neither Chief Minister Siddaramaiah nor Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has contacted him for an explanation. “To my knowledge, the party high command hasn’t asked for a report either,” he added.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders have accused the Congress of presiding over a corrupt administration. “This is proof that the Congress government is looting the state. Their own MLA has exposed them,” a BJP spokesperson said.