New Delhi, July 14
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has finally made his point. Even as he remained tight-lipped on the issue of resignation from office following the Left’s withdrawal of support from the government, the CPM today made a desperate attempt to dissociate itself from the controversy that has spawned reports of a division in the Left.
In a statement issued today, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said any decision on the issue would be taken by the Speaker himself. “We do not want the office of the Speaker being dragged into any unnecessary controversy,” Karat stated, indicating a wave within the Left in favour of the Speaker’s stand. The timing of the statement also goes in favour of the Speaker, who met the Left patriarch Jyoti Basu in Kolkata yesterday to convey his sentiments on the issue.
While the Left may still want Chatterjee on their side considering every vote counts in the vote of confidence on July 22, the Congress and SP want the Speaker to continue. If he resigns, a new Speaker would have to be elected, but that can’t be the case as the House is not in session. That means Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha Charanjit Singh Atwal will preside over the special Lok Sabha session. Atwal, being a member of the Akali Dal, an NDA ally, may not be such a comfortable choice for the Congress.
As regards history of the debate involving the Speaker and party politics, the conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India has long been engaged with the question of how far the Speakers should be connected with their political parties. The 1951 conference said a convention should be established that the seat from which the Speaker stands for re-election is not contested and the Speaker does not take part in party politics.
The 1953 conference at Gwalior reiterated the same and even conveyed it to then Congress President Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1967, a committee constituted to recommend steps needed to ensure the
impartiality of Speaker, stated that it was essential for Speakers to sever all ties with parties to which they may have belonged.
Presently in India, the Speaker, like other members, represents his constituency and his seat is contested.
There have, however, been cases where Speakers have dissociated themselves from the party upon assuming office.
Vithalbhai Patel, the first non-official speaker of the Legislative Assembly, dissociated himself from the Swarajist Party. In the 1926 election, he did not contest on Congress ticket and fought as an Independent from his old constituency; he was returned unopposed.
