He was given the post of Vice-Chairperson, National Commission for Minorities, with a status equivalent to the Minister of State in the central government.
As Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) in Bangalore City, he was notable for his attempts to tackle the issue of illegal parking.
He was expelled from BJP for voting in favour of civilian nuclear deal with the US for which a no-confidence motion was moved against the UPA in Lok Sabha on 22 July 2008, and then joined the Indian National Congress.
He contested the newly formed Bangalore Central constituency for the INC in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections and lost to the BJP candidate, P. C. Mohan, by (59,665) votes.
[3][4] Sangliana was one of 160 international delegates who joined US president-elect Barack Obama at his breakfast table on 10 February 2008.