Former Lok Sabha speaker Purno A Sangma, who along with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar revolted against Congress president Sonia Gandhi in 1999, died here yesterday morning following a heart attack. He was 68.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sonia Gandhi herself condoled the sudden death of one of the best known politicians from the northeast.
Sangma became a household name after presiding over the 11th Lok Sabha from 1996 to 1998 — a time when the country saw coalition politics. A tribal, Sangma was also chief minister of Meghalaya - his home state - from 1988 to 1990.
President Mukherjee said that in his death, “the nation has lost an eminent public figure and multi-faceted personality”.
Vice President Ansari credited Sangma with working tirelessly for the uplift and improvement of tribal communities.
Modi described Sangma as a self-made leader whose contribution to the development of the northeast was monumental. “Sangma’s tenure as Lok Sabha speaker is unforgettable. His down to earth personality and affable nature endeared him to many.”
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day in tribute after members observed a two-minute silence.
Gandhi said “the nation has lost a tall leader and the northeast has lost an important voice” in Sangma’s passing away.
Sangma for long was considered close to the Gandhi family. But in a dramatic moment in 1999, he teamed up with Pawar and Anwar to stage a revolt against Gandhi’s leadership dubbing her a “foreigner”, splitting the Congress.
Sangma, Pawar and Anwar went on to form the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). While Pawar and Anwar later more or less made up with the Congress, Sangma remained staedfastly opposed to the country’s oldest party.

Purno A Sangma