Zameer offers internal probe as graft charge leaves Karnataka Congress red-faced

Bengaluru: Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan has ordered an internal probe after senior Congress lawmaker B R Patil claimed that there was bribery in the allotment of public housing units, a fresh corruption allegation that rattled the two-year-old Congress government.

Patil made this charge against his own party’s government in a viral phone conversation with Zameer’s private secretary Sarfaraz Khan. “If I open my mouth, the government will shake,” the Aland MLA is heard saying.

Patil has claimed that hundreds of houses were allotted by the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation only after being bribed.

Zameer’s office said the minister has ordered an internal probe based on Patil’s allegations.

When contacted, Patil confirmed that it was his voice on the viral audio. Asked about the buzz that he met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to discuss the matter, Patil said: “Why should I meet the CM?”

This is not the first time Patil, who was not made a minister, has put the government in a spot.

In July 2023, just after Congress came to power, Patil threatened to resign at a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting citing “self-respect” and slamming “arrogant” ministers.

In November 2023, Patil again threatened to resign over allegations that he entrusted works to the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd (KRIDL) when he was the Aland MLA between 2013 and 2018.

Patil, seen as Siddaramaiah’s loyalist, was appointed as the CM’s policy & planning advisor in December 2023. However, in

February 2025, Patil suddenly resigned from that post. But weeks later, he was appointed as deputy chairperson of the Karnataka State Policy & Planning Commission.

Meanwhile, sources said that Sarfaraz Khan is contemplating lodging a complaint with Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh against the senior MLA for “breach of trust” by leaking their phone conversation.

Sarfaraz will discuss this with Zameer once he returns from Mumbai, source added.

Patil’s accusation adds to a list of corruption allegations that the Siddaramaiah administration has had to face: embezzlement of taxpayer money at the Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation, the Mysuru Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment ‘scam’, kickback charges levelled by the Karnataka State Contractors Association and allegations of bribery in the excise department among others.