Karnataka Congress MLA BR Patil has issued a clarification after a video of him on a phone call sparked controversy over his comments on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s rise in the state. Patil’s clarification stands in contrast to what he was heard saying in the video circulated earlier.
“My words have been twisted by electronic media and social media and it’s wrong. I was speaking to a dear friend of mine in KR Pete when Siddaramaiah’s matter came up and I said that Siddaramaiah hit a lottery to become the CM. It’s wrong to say I made him meet Sonia Gandhi. I was with him when he went to meet Sonia Gandhi. He was insisting on not meeting Sonia Gandhi this time, but decided to meet her only since I pressured him. He’s a mass leader. I don’t have the power to make him Chief Minister,” Patil said in clarification.
Dismissing claims that he influenced Siddaramaiah’s appointment, Patil added: “Some people are intentionally trying to ruin my relationship with him. Nine of us from JDS [Janata Dal (Secular)] quit the party and joined Congress under his leadership. The Congress made him CM because of the support he received from people, not because we asked for him to be made CM. This attempt by some to ruin my relationship with Siddaramaiah is wrong.”
The clarification came after a video surfaced on Sunday, in which Patil was heard stating, “Siddaramaiah won the lucky lottery and became Chief Minister. It was I who made him meet Sonia Gandhi. His fate was good, so he got the position.” In the same call, made during his visit to KR Pete in Mandya, he attributed Siddaramaiah’s rise to favourable “grahachara” (planetary alignment), while lamenting his own lack of a godfather in politics. “See, we don’t have a godfather. In fact, there’s neither ‘God’ nor ‘father’ for us,” he said.
This video incident follows another controversy involving Patil a few days ago, when a separate audio clip surfaced. In that recording, he accused officials associated with the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Corporation of large-scale corruption. Patil alleged that housing allotments were made in exchange for bribes, sidelining recommendation letters from elected representatives like himself.
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