Karnataka Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan rejects EWS housing scheme graft charges, seeks probe
Bengaluru, Jun 24 (PTI): Karnataka Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan on Tuesday dismissed allegations of corruption in the allotment of houses under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) scheme and called for a thorough probe into the matter.
The minister was responding to claims made by ruling Congress MLA from Aland, B R Patil, who alleged that bribes were being collected from poor families in exchange for houses.
"Is there any instance where money is being taken to allot houses? Let B R Patil tell me who demanded money. We will take action against those who accepted bribes — they won’t be spared," Khan told reporters.
He urged Patil to write to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and formally seek an inquiry into the alleged irregularities.
Clarifying his stance, Khan said he had already ordered a departmental probe.
"As the minister, I’ve directed senior officials to investigate whether such incidents have occurred. So far, no such instance has come to my notice," he said.
Refuting allegations that he personally benefited, Khan said, "I am not in such penury that I need to collect money from the poor. If I have taken money for allotting houses, I deserve to be cursed. Will my family or I gain anything by exploiting the poor? We will perish."
He added that only Panchayats are authorised to select beneficiaries, not MLAs.
"If Panchayat members have taken money, let them be exposed. I haven't come across any complaint of Panchayat officials collecting money from beneficiaries."
According to Khan, all MLAs cutting across party lines had submitted recommendations for house allotments, but the state lacked enough stock to meet every request.
"We’re allotting houses in phases. Patil had asked for around 2,000 houses, but we also have to reallocate homes that were cancelled earlier. We’ve given 950 houses to separate Panchayats."
Addressing Patil's complaint that none of the people he recommended were allotted houses while the Aland Panchayat president allegedly secured 950 homes for his people, Khan reiterated that he had no role in the selection.
The minister criticised the Centre for levying 12 per cent GST on the Rs 1.5 lakh grant provided under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) for EWS families.
"I requested BJP leaders in Karnataka to get the GST removed on central housing funds, but nothing has happened," he said.
He explained that the total cost of a house under the scheme is Rs 7.5 lakh, with Rs 1.5 lakh each from the Centre and the state. For SC/ST beneficiaries, the central contribution is Rs 2.5 lakh, and the rest is borne by the beneficiary.
Khan further alleged that while the Slum Development Board was supposed to receive Rs 9,500 crore from the Centre — Rs 7,400 crore under various housing schemes and Rs 2,100 crore under the Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana — only Rs 310 crore was released in the last eight years.
"When I brought this to the Chief Minister's notice, the cabinet approved Rs 500 crore in 2024, enabling us to construct and allocate 36,789 houses," he said.
Khan clarified that Patil had not directly accused him of taking bribes.
"He never said I collected money. His grievance seems to be with the process at the local level," the minister said.
The controversy gave ammunition to the opposition BJP and JD(S), who demanded Khan's resignation and a high-level inquiry.
Adding to the Congress’s discomfort, party MLA Belur Gopal Krishna also joined the chorus demanding Khan’s resignation.
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Rahul on Indo-US trade deal: PM buckled under pressure to sell out farmers' blood & sweat
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi buckled under US pressure to finalise a trade deal and “sold out” the hard work of the Indian farmers through the agreement.
Addressing reporters in the Parliament House complex after he was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha as he insisted on quoting from an article that cited former Army chief M M Naravane's unpublished “memoir”, Gandhi also said that it is for the first time in history that the Leader of Opposition has not been allowed to speak on the president's address.
In a post on X, Gandhi said, “PM Modi is Compromised. PM is too afraid to let me speak in Parliament about Naravane, Epstein Files and how he has surrendered on Tariffs.”
Hitting back at the Congress and Gandhi, BJP MP Anurag Thakur asked whether the Congress and others in the opposition are with India's interest.
He also slammed Gandhi over his allegation that Prime Minister Modi buckled under US pressure to finalise the trade deal.
Speaking to reporters, Gandhi said the issue is not Naravane's statement, “that is a side show”, but the main thing is that “our prime minister has been compromised”.
“I want to say three things. They are not allowing me to speak. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is rattled. And the trade deal that had been stuck for the last four months, for some reason which Prime Minister Modi and I know, was sealed last evening,” he said.
Gandhi also claimed that Modi is under "enormous pressure", and his “image balloon” that had been inflated with thousands of crores could burst.
“The issue is not Naravane's statement, that is a side show, he (Modi) and I both know it. The main thing is that our prime minister has been compromised. Who has done it and how it has been done, the people of India have to think about it,” Gandhi said.
The Leader of Opposition also said the farmers of India must understand that there has been a “sell-out” of their hard work, as well as their blood and sweat, by Prime Minister Modi through this deal.
“He has sold it because he is compromised. He has not just sold you off, but the whole country. That is why they are not allowing me to speak,” Gandhi said, claiming that the prime minister is “scared”.
Asked what kind of pressure he was referring to, Gandhi said there is a case against industrialist Gautam Adani in the US and a lot more is to come in the Epstein files matter.
“There is a case on Adani in the US… That is not targeting Adani but Modi's financial structure. The Epstein files have more matter,” Gandhi said.
The Epstein files refer to thousands of pages of documents related to two criminal investigations into sex trafficking by financier Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, including travel logs, recordings, and emails, which have been a topic of conversation since Epstein died in custody in 2019.
Gandhi also called the pressure of the Epstein files and the case against Adani the two “pressure points” for the government.
In another X post in Hindi, Gandhi said, "For the first time in history, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha is not being allowed to speak on a serious issue like national security.”
“Why is Mr Modi so rattled by General Naravane's statement and the Epstein case,” he asked.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the US has stated that American farmers' products will now be sold in the Indian market, bringing money to rural America.
“India's millions of farmers want to know what the terms of this trade agreement are? Is the Modi government planning to fully open the Indian agricultural sector to America? Will the government thrust Indian farmers into direct competition with American companies? Has a compromise been made on the interests of our farmers? The situation must be clarified immediately before the public,” she said.
India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from the current 25 per cent, US President Donald Trump said on Monday after a phone conversation with Prime Minister Modi.
Modi said he was delighted that "Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent".
“Wonderful to speak with my dear friend President Trump today. Delighted that Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 per cent. Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement," the prime minister said.
