Somnath defies CPM diktat, chairs all-party meet

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A defiant Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Monday was silent on mounting pressure from his CPI-M party to quit his post before the trust vote and took his chair in the Lok Sabha shortly after convening an all-party meeting.

A day after the CPI(M) took a tough stance in making it clear to Chatterjee to quit his post before the confidence vote. the Speaker went about his scheduled business in the Lower House.

"It is nice to see a full house," said 79-year-old Chatterjee in an attempt to inject humour after he took the Speaker's Chair to preside over the two-day Special session.

"It is an important session," said Chatterjee while asking some agitated members to keep quiet.

Before going to the Lok Sabha, the Speaker presided over the meeting of the floor leaders of parties to discuss issues relating to the trust vote being sought by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

When asked whether he still remained the Speaker, Chatterjee evaded a reply as he entered Parliament House.

On Sunday night, the CPI(M) had asked the Speaker, who is on a collision course with the party leadership, to resign from office ahead of the confidence vote.

The issue of resignation of Chatterjee from the post did not figure in the meeting of floor leaders.

Basudeb Acharia, leader of CPI(M) in Lok Sabha, whose party has demanded that Chatterjee should quit in the wake of the Left withdrawing support to the government, did not raise the issue.

On Sunday night, after the meeting of the Central Committee of CPI(M), the party had sent a message to the Speaker to quit before the House took up the confidence motion.

However, sources close to the Speaker said that he was not aware of any communication in this regard and the only statement he was aware of was what CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat had stated two days ago that he should take his own decision.