NEW DELHI: It was a poignant moment when Soradini Kongkal Sangma, wife of late Purno Agitok Sangma, received the posthumous Padma Vibhushan from President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.
Conrad Sangma, Purno’s son and Tura MP, was supposed to receive the award but political turmoil on the home front forced the NPP president to rush to Garo Hills. So the widow of the late leader from Garo Hills received the award from the President.
It was Purno who had contested against Mukherjee as a combined opposition candidate in the last presidential poll.
Purno had challenged the candidature of Mukherjee in the apex court, which was dismissed.
Later, both the former Congress stalwarts buried the hatchet.
This is also the last year of the President’s first term after which he might stay in Purno’s landmark Dr Abdul Kalam’s bungalow where Conrad is staying at present.
The Member of Parliament might have to move to a smaller house on Feroz Shah Road where the lone Rajya Sabha MP from Meghalaya, Wansuk Syiem, is staying.
