'Not receiving grants due to pre-poll guarantees': B R Patil on quitting as CM Siddaramaiah's advisor

Kalaburagi: Aland Congress MLA B R Patil, who resigned as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's political advisor, alleged on Sunday that, like other MLAs, he was not receiving grants due to the pre-poll guarantee schemes.

Patil resigned from the post on Saturday, a position he had held since December 29, 2023. He submitted his resignation to the Chief Minister’s Office in Bengaluru.

The Congress government had earmarked Rs 52,000 crore in the 2024-25 budget for the five guarantees. However, party sources said that spending on these guarantees had far exceeded the budgetary allocation by November itself.

"There are problems. I did not resign mindlessly. If the Chief Minister invites me, I will meet him and explain," Patil told reporters in Kalaburagi.

He said he had written letters to Siddaramaiah twice. "But he too is under pressure due to the MUDA scam and state budget preparation but I told him that I will be with him like an intimate friend till the end," he added.

When asked about the reason for his resignation, Patil stated that he was unable to do anything for his constituency or address any other issues.

Feeling that his position as a political advisor was of "no use", he decided to step down, he added.

On whether grants were the primary reason, he clarified that, along with grants, there were other issues as well.

"Due to the guarantees, we are not getting grants. I am not the only one affected—many other MLAs across the state are also deprived of funds," he said.

Dismissing speculation that he was eyeing a bigger post, Patil asserted that he was not "the kind of politician to engage in blackmailing".

He also announced that he would not contest elections in the future, expressing gratitude for having served as an MLA four times and as an MLC twice.

Patil further stated that his resignation was also linked to the office of profit issue.

"There is nothing special about my resignation. I had decided to resign long ago. I was waiting for Damocles' sword of disqualification concerning the office of profit issue to be cleared. Once it was, I resigned," he said.