Sangliana joins Congress

A Triple Jolt to BJP

After wriggling in discomfort in the saffron quarters almost since day one, BJP Bangalore North MP, H.T. Sangliana decided to finally call it quits. The former Bangalore Police Commissioner formally joined the Congress, along with two other disgruntled BJP MPs, Manorama Madhwaraj and Manjunath Kunnur. The trio finally came closer to the rewards they have been expecting from Congress.
"They believe in the ideology of our party and they joined us," Prithviraj Chavan, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, told at a news conference at the All India Congress Committee's office.
 Sangliana, Madhwaraj and Kunnur had won the last LS polls from Bangalore North, Udupi and Dharwad South seats respectively on BJP's tickets. All the three were disqualified and expelled by BJP after they defied the party's whip.
In 2004, Sangliana dealt a killer blow to the Congress defeating veteran Congressman CK Jaffer Shafief.
Explaining his reasons for ditching the BJP and joining Congress, Mr Sangliana told mediapersons, "The Congress is the only secular party in the country which gives me the scope to serve the poor and the oppressed. Moreover several of myoid friends and batch mates are in the State Congress. The day when I was formally inducted into the Congress, my phone has been ringing nonstop with congratulatory messages pouring in."
According to Bangalore's very first Supercop, Sri Oscar Fernandez, Union Minister spoke to him lauding his decision and said he had always been his great admirer.
Mr Sangliana also revealed that he had been invited for a breakfast meet with US President Barack Obama on Feb 5, and added that he was looking forward to break bread with the new President.
Asked whether the people of his constituency would continue to extend their support to him, Mr Sangliana replied, "People still come to me with their grievances. As I said, I owe my reputation to my service to society and not to the BJP. The fact that people still have faith in me shows they appreciate my works taken up in my constituency when I was MP. They know I am not corrupt, that I stand for my principles, that I don't compromise on my integrity. In fact I feel they are even more with me than earlier when I was in the BJP." He added, "The welfare of the people is more important than anything else." He also made it clear that he would be actively involved in Karnataka, and would not be going back to Manipur, his hometown. "The people of Karnataka have showered me with their love and affection and I have lived here for so long. I have no intentions of returning to my hometown."