Sangma meets Vajpayee again

Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader P A Sangma on Sunday met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee sparking further speculation of a split in the party.

The former Lok Sabha speaker failed to quash the rumours by saying, "By announcing that the NCP would have an alliance with the Congress party, NCP president Pawar has made his move. He has his political compulsions in Maharashtra and I have my own."

For the record, he said, "I discussed insurgency, illegal migration, social development and economic issues relating to the Northeastern states with the prime minister."

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However, it is well known that he favours allying with the National Democratic Alliance. He had earlier met the prime minister after the latter returned from the SAARC Summit in Pakistan.

He will meet members of the North Eastern People's Forum (NEPF) at his residence on Monday before announcing his next course of action.

"Seventeen non-congress parties will attend the meeting and so will chief ministers of Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Sikkim," he told newspersons at 7, Race Course Road (the PM's residence) after a half-an-hour meeting with Vajpayee.

He ruled out a compromise with Pawar.