Karnataka housing allocation graft: DK Shivakumar refutes corruption charges but Patil stands his ground

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar rejected Saturday his senior Congress colleague B R Patil's charge that there was bribery in the allotment of public housing units.

Patil, however, stood his ground and said he has spoken the truth.

In a viral phone conversation with Housing Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan's private secretary Sarfaraz Khan, Patil claimed that hundreds of houses were allotted by the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation in exchange for bribes. "If I open my mouth, the government will shake,” the Aland MLA is heard saying.

Shivakumar outright denied Patil's claim. "I won't agree at any cost," he said. "I haven't understood what he's trying to say. The matter has come to the chief minister's notice and he'll take action," he added.

According to Shivakumar, allotment of houses happens in a transparent process. "How can a beneficiary pay bribes? The decision (of allotment) is taken by gram panchayats and other local bodies. To which minister does this come? So, whatever (Patil's) intention is, I condemn it. We'll tell him he's wrong. There's nothing like that," Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress president, said.

Meanwhile, Patil lobbed the ball in Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's court. "I've said what I've had to say. I don't know what the CM will do about this," he said.

Patil said he wrote four letters on allotment of 2,000 houses. "But when a gram panchayat president took my letter, approval was given. That means the gram panchayat president is more powerful," he said, calling for an investigation.

Asked about corruption in the Congress government, Patil said: "Corruption happened under all governments. But our government promised good governance. This (bribery for houses) shouldn't have happened."

On the Congress government facing negativity because of his charge, Patil said: "What negative? What I've said is the truth."

Patil maintained that he will not meet Siddaramaiah unless called.