Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Agitok Sangma died of a heart attack. He was 68. Parliament sources said that the end came this morning after he suffered a heart attack. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced the news of his death in the House, which was adjourned for the day.

Born on 1 September, 1947, Sangma had worked as a lecturer, lawyer and journalist before joining politics. After completing his graduation from St Anthony’s College, he went to Dibrugarh University in Assam for his Masters degree in International Relations. Subsequently, he also obtained a degree in Law. Sangma was a nine-time member of Lok Sabha and Speaker in the 11th Lok Sabha.

Sangma had a keen sense of understanding of the political realities of the Northeast, especially of his home state, Meghalaya. In 1988, he was elected the chief minister of Meghalaya and headed a 48-member coalition government in a tumultuous period in the state\'s political history.

Sangma entered the national politics in 1977 when the country was preparing for the sixth General Elections. Sangma was inducted into the Union Cabinet and assumed the office of the Deputy Minister in charge of Industry in November 1980. After two years, he shifted to the Ministry of Commerce as Deputy Minister and held the post till December 1984. For a short while, he also served as the Minister of State for Home Affairs. Sangma took over as the Minister of State for Labour with Independent Charge in October 1986.

He became Meghalaya Chief Minister in 1988. Sangma returned to the Lok Sabha in 1991 following the General Elections and was inducted into the Union Cabinet by Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao. Sangma was given the Independent Charge of the Ministry of Coal. In February 1992, he was given the additional responsibility of assisting the Prime Minister in the Ministry of Labour.

In September 1995, Sangma took over as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, the post he held till the General Elections to the 11th Lok Sabha. Sangma was elected to the Lok Sabha for the fifth time from the Tura constituency in the 1996 General Elections. On May 23, 1996, he was unanimously elected the Speaker of the 11th Lok Sabha with universal support cutting across all political parties.

By Premji