Gireesh Kumar Sanghi

Gireesh Kumar Sanghi (born 8 March 1955) is an industrialist and politician. He was a Member of the Parliament of India for the Indian National Congress party representing Andhra Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament.

Sanghi obtained a BA in political science from Osmania University. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in June 2004 and served until June 2010,[1] actively involved in several committees. In February 2015 he left the Congress party and joined the BJP.[2][3]

He is a joint-owner and director of a conglomerate of companies that includes Sanghi Textiles and A.G.A. Publications, the publisher of Telugu-language newspaper Vaartha and Hindi Swatantra Vaartha.[4][5][6]

A controversy arose in 2016 about Sanghi's unauthorised use of a government bungalow.[7] Sanghi was entitled to rent and use the bungalow while a member of the Rajya Sabha. However, upon ceasing to serve, he forfeited that right. However he continued to use the bungalow for over 5 years after his departure. Additionally, he failed to pay the rent due, leaving him liable for roughly ₹23,00,000.[7] There were also complaints that he had made significant unauthorised changes to the government-owned bungalows, such as converting it into a two floor accommodation.[7]

  1. ^ "MP Track - Rajya Sabha". MP Track. PRS Legislative Research. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Former Cong RS MP Girish Sanghi joins BJP". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  3. ^ Sen, Manisha. "Rs 93 lakh rent outstanding against former MPs". The Sen Times. Sen Times Group Pvt Ltd. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  4. ^ Chintala, Prashanth; Mohan, Krishna (25 January 2011). "Inside the Sanghi family feud". Business Standard India. Business Standard Private Ltd. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Quotes & Companies: Sanghi Industries Ltd". Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  6. ^ "A.G.A Publications Ltd". G2Mi: Global Media Market Intelligence. Heernet Ventures Limited. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  7. ^ a b c Subhash Agrawal (11 February 2016). "Unauthorised occupation of govt bungalows: Ex-MP Gireesh Kumar Sanghi tops the list of rent defaulters". Merinews. Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2020.