New Delhi, July 22
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who defied his party by not resigning, tonight kept on the suspense over whether he would quit saying he will “decide” when the time comes.
“Do you want me to resign?” Chatterjee retorted when asked by reporters whether he planned to quit today (July 22) after conducting the proceedings of the confidence motion as had been speculated.
Questioning the importance of the day, he asked “July 22 ka kya karega (What is so special about July 22)?” Earlier in the day, when asked the similar question he shot back: “Did I say month and year?”
Chatterjee has been under intense pressure
from the CPM to resign after the party withdrew support to the government and even listed him as among the party MPs who had withdrawn support.
The CPM wanted him to toe the party line but he defied and remained in the post. Lately, there have been reports that he planned to resign after conducting the confidence motion. When asked when he planned to quit, Chatterjee said: “I will decide” but did not elaborate.
Looking tired after presiding over the marathon debate, Chatterjee said: “I will now go home and sleep.” He refused to comment on the outcome of the confidence motion proceedings. “It was my job to conduct the House and I did it,” Chatterjee said.
When referred to the CPM Politburo meeting tomorrow, the Speaker said he had got no invite as he was not its member.
Chatterjee also said the CPM cannot issue a notice to him for not heeding its call to quit his post as he was “not a member of the Politburo”.
“They (CPM) cannot give me a notice because I am not a Politburo member...I will decide (when or whether to resign),” Chatterjee said.
His response came to a query about the CPM decision authorising the Politburo to take “appropriate action” against him for defying the party line.
The CPM has made no secret of its unhappiness as he presided over the Lok Sabha and Politburo member Sitaram Yechury last night hinted that a “decision” on any disciplinary action against him would be taken at an “appropriate time”. Asked whether he will continue to be the Speaker in the future, he turned philosophical saying “who knows about tomorrow... whether I will alive or not.”
— PTI
