New Delhi, May 11: The NCP on Sunday distanced itself from former Lok Sabha Speaker and senior party leader Purno A Sangma’s reservation about the growth of regional parties and his opinion that the Congress and the BJP should run the country together. “These are his personal views, and not the party’s view,” NCP general secretary Tariq Anwar said after the conclusion of the party’s national committee meeting here.

Speaking to The Indian Express Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta on NDTV’s Walk The Talk, Sangma had said the growth of regional parties was “not healthy” and suggested that the Congress and the BJP should come together and run the country in a coalition, as there were no great differences between the two on economic and foreign policies.

“In the present political scenario, Sangma was talking in national interest. But such a situation has not yet come,” said Anwar, adding that the party’s national committee did not discuss these issues.

Sangma could not attend the meeting, as he was in Meghalaya campaigning for the May 22 Tura Lok Sabha bypoll in which the party has fielded his daughter, Agatha.