By IANS,
New Delhi : Central minister Agatha Sangma, daughter of former Lok Sabha speaker P.A. Sangma who quit the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to contest the presidential poll, did not attend the party’s parliamentary board meeting here Thursday.
“Agatha did not attend the meeting… she intimated me shortly before the meeting that she won’t be able to come due to some unavoidable reasons,” NCP general secretary D.P. Tripathi told reporters after the meet.
Agatha is union minister of state for rural development.
Tripathi denied rumours that the NCP may take some disciplinary action against Agatha, as her father has been campaigning for presidency from her official residence here, saying she has not violated party discipline.
“She is a party MP and our representative in the union cabinet… she has not violated any party discipline,” he said.
Tripathi said NCP chief Sharad Pawar had urged Agatha around 10 days ago to refrain from campaigning for her father and she was following the advice.
“She has not said anything after that,” said Tripathi adding that it would be against basic courtesy to ask the daughter not to let her father stay in her official residence.
Earlier, the NCP said Sangma is a candidate of the communal parties after the Bharatiya Janata Party announced support for him.
AIADMK chief J Jayalalithha and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik have already backed Sangma’s candidature for the July 19 presidential poll.