Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Agatha Sangma, the youngest minister in the United Progressive Alliance government, said on Sunday that her father and Nationalist Congress Party leader Parno A Sangma no longer had any issue with Congress president Sonia Gandhi over her foreign origins.
"This issue is completely over now. My father P A Sangma had said a person of foreign origin should not become the prime minister of the country. But he did not have any personal issue against her. This issue has followed my father for a long time. Now it no longer matters," she told reporters in Guwahati while on way to New Delhi to assume office.
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She denied to accept that her appointment as a minister in the Congress-led UPA government was aimed at bridging the divide between P A Sangma and Sonia Gandhi. "I will say that NCP is a national party and part of the UPA. The party leadership wanted to include someone from the North East in the ministry. Since, I am the only MP of the party from the region, I have been accommodated as a minister," Agatha said adding that she was happy to be inducted as a MoS for Rural Development.
"As a minister in Rural Development, I am looking forward contribute to the development of the North East as well as other rural parts of the country where 75 per cent of our population live," she said. Agatha underlined the need for ushering in an era of accountability, proper monitoring and transparency for proper implementation of rural development schemes in the country and raised concern over failure of the Northeastern states to absorb the entire rural development funds provided by the Central government.
She prescribed judicious use of the Right to Information Act provisions by all sections of the people to bring about transparency in implementation of rural development schemes and check corruption, if any, in the process.
