Voice of India: Speaker Somnath shouldn't quit

LOUD SPEAKER: Somnath Chatterjee may quit CPI-M after the trust vote on July 22.

      

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Singhvi countered Trivedi’s views arguing, “I think it is regrettable. Mr Trivedi has used very strong words. I think whether he should resign or not, it is entirely the Speaker’s decision. On principle Somnath Chatterjee cannot be faulted if indeed the principle is as Soli Sorabjee rightly says that a Speaker is partyless once he becomes a Speaker. Then he should not hesitate to carry it to its logical conclusion. The logical conclusion is that the Speaker continues so long as he is in this post and is above party politics. It doesn’t mean he is a zombie or a robot. As a Speaker he can meet his old friends who are bound to be from his political past like Jyoti Basu. But he is fully entitled not to resign, he is fully entitled to conduct the trust vote. In a highly unlikely rare situation of a tie the Speaker is entitled because the Constitution says to cast a casting vote. And if you cast a casting vote against the Congress or for the Congress, in either event he can’t be faulted.”

Why the Speaker?

But just why does the CPI-M want Chatterjee to step down? CPI-M MP and former Kerala Assembly Speaker Varakala Radhakrishnan said it was a matter of principles. Somnath Chatterjee was elected to the Lok Sabha as a member of the CPI-M. His name is included in the list of CPI-M members submitted to the Lok Sabha Secretariat. Later the UPA was formed but it did not have the majority. So Left parties supported the UPA Government. “We have already expressed our view and Comrade Prakash Karat has given his opinion. It was left to him to take a decision. My view is the Speaker should have taken a decision by this time. As a matter of propriety he has to resign,” he said.

Sorabjee once again explained the legal aspect saying once a person is elected as a Speaker, he or she cannot be regarded as a nominee of any particular party

“It is not a question of party-less. Actually there is no convention in India as in England that once you are elected as Speaker you sever your connection with the party. But once he is elected unanimously by the House, you cannot regard him as a nominee of any particular party. In fact such a thinking, to my mind, really erodes the dignity of the Speaker. Once he is a Speaker, he is the Speaker of the House and whether he should resign is a matter left to him. Whether he should be removed is a matter provided in the Constitution. But to compel him to do so is not correct. It is a matter pf his conscience. If he feels so and does not like the prospect of his party members voting along with the BJP against the trust vote, then it is his own subjective opinion.”

D Raja also agreed that Somnath should take the decision about his future on his own.

“The CPI-M Central Committee is meeting on July 19 and 20 and as a party it will decide. Also CPI-M leadership has said that the Speaker will take a decision at the appropriate time. I think Somnath Chatterjee is a competent and capable person. He will decide what he should do,” Raja said.

Final SMS/Web poll:

Yes: 37 per cent

No: 63 per cent