All about slapper Somanna

06 July,2009 08:58 AM IST |   |  B V Shivashankar

The minister who allegedly slapped a municipal official, was planning to apologise to him once the crowd had dispersed. But the drama went out of hand, and the official landed in hospital with a neuro problem


The minister who allegedly slapped a municipal official, was planning to apologise to him once the crowd had dispersed. But the drama went out of hand, and the official landed in hospital with a neuro problem

Minister V Somanna (56) was hardly prepared for what happened when he pretended to lose his temper and slapped BBMP assistant engineer A N Somaraju.

Somaraju stopped talking, fell down unconscious, and was hospitalised. This turn of events is a first for Somanna, who routinely abuses officials and then tells them it was just playacting for the benefit of his voters.

"Think of me as your brother," he tells officials, and patches up with them with some friendly talk. Officials usually compromise because they need political support if ever they are pulled up for their lapses.

All in good humour

Good show sir! V Somanna

MiD DAY brings you some scenes from the colourful life of Somanna, who defected from the JD(S) to the Congress to the BJP. He is now minister in charge of religious affairs.

>> In 1982, he allegedly stole Rs 30,000 from the cash box in Janatha Bazar, where he was a salesman. He was sacked, but the very next year, he was elected to the municipal council as the Janata Party candidate from Vijayanagar.

>> He was H D Deve Gowda's follower. When Gowda became chief minister, Somanna started calling him appaji (daddy). This got Somanna a cabinet minister's post between 1994 and 1999. As soon as Deve Gowda was out of the seat, Somanna started calling J H Patel by that name. Somanna's second appaji became CM soon after.

>> Somanna allegedly asks BWSSB officials to stop the water supply in his constituency whenever he feels his popularity is dipping. His followers go around telling citizens they should approach him. When they arrive at his door, he pretends to be angry, calls up board officials, and makes them resume supply. His standard line over the phone: "How dare you deny water to Somanna's sisters?"

>> A joke doing rounds: Somanna meets a boy with long hair. "Chee, can't you cut your hair? Your dad came to me yesterday and was so unhappy about you. Why can't you heed the poor man's words?" The boy tells him his father has been dead for years!

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