Kolkata, July 27
Prakash Karat today justified his action against veteran leader Somnath Chatterjee by stating that he was keeping silent on resigning from the Speaker’s post and they were thus forced to expel him.

Karat said there were constant pressures from a larger-section in the Central Committee for taking some action against Somnath since he was repeatedly defying the politburo’s unanimous decision on resigning.

Karat felt that Somnath’s issue could be a closed chapter. “Whether he will remain in the Speaker’s post or not he himself can decide, but about his remaining in the party, the decision will be left entirely to the party,” he said.

The state secretariat would be meeting tomorrow to review Somnath’s expulsion issue and consider if there was any scope for his return.

Karat was in the city for attending the two-day state committee meting at the request of state party secretary Biman Bose and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

At the concluding session of the meeting today, he discussed the country’s present political situation vis-à-vis the nuclear deal issue and the Left parties’ future programme of launching agitation against the UPA on the nuclear deal and various other anti-people policies adopted by the Manmohan Singh government as well as the BJP’s communal and divisive policies.

During his stay in the city Karat met Jyoti Basu, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Biman Bose separately and discussed with them on Somnath’s expulsion issue and about their prolonged agitation programme against the UPA on the nuclear deal, inflation and various other anti-people policies.

Karat was aware that a section in the state CPM was not happy that Somnath could be expelled from the party and the CPM would be siding with the BJP and Mayawati for downfall of the secular UPA government.

Basu expressed his unhappiness that such a disciplinary action had been taken against Somnath without giving him any opportunity to explain his stand. In response Karat reportedly told Basu that he had to take the step following constant pressure from the Central Committee.

However, Basu asked the comrades to get them united and strengthen the party by resolving all their differences and misunderstandings among themselves.