CPM allows Somnath to take up Lok Sabha Speaker offer

Veteran CPI (M) leader Somnath Chatterjee is all set to become the new Speaker of the Lok Sabha with his party accepting the Congress' offer for the post.

After a day-long discussion on the issue, the CPI (M) Politburo decided to 'spare' Chatterjee for the post considering his 'experience' in Parliament, said party General Secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet, here today.

"We have considered the Congress' offer of the Lok Sabha Speaker and agreed to accept it," Surjeet told reporters after a day-long meeting of the party's Politburo.

Surjeet said the Politburo discussed in detail the offer of the Congress and while appreciating the gesture, unanimously decided that the veteran parliamentarian should take up the Speaker's post.

He said with Chatterjee assuming the Speaker's post, Basudev Acharya would be the leader of the CPI (M) in Parliament.

Chatterjee today said he would try to conduct the House with the cooperation and accommodation of all its members.

"There is no formula in running the House. My effort will be to get cooperation from all members and every member should get an opportunity to speak," Chatterjee said in his initial reaction after the CPI(M) accepted the Congress' offer of investing the post of Lok Sabha Speaker on him.

Chatterjee, who was the CPI (M) parliamentary party leader in the Lok Sabha and is known for his oratorial skills, said: "This time I have to be a non-Speaker, but I will have to adjust."

Asked if he would face a problem while conducting the House, Chatterjee said, "We will work together. I have seen the House for a long time."

To another question on why his party took so long in taking a decision, he said: "Our party has a system." The CPI(M) veteran has earned the rare distinction of getting elected to the Lok Sabha for the 10th time.

Meanwhile, the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), a constituent of the Left Front, today expressed reservations on accepting the Congress' proposal of making senior CPI (M) leader Somnath Chatterjee the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, but left the final decision to the CPI (M).

"Our party has reservations because Chatterjee is the seniormost and most competent leader and none else can place the views of the Left so strongly inside the House. But it is upto the CPI (M) to take a final decision in this regard," said the party general secretary, Debabrata Biswas, after the AIFB central secretariat meeting which discussed the issue during the day.

He said that the CPI (M) would have to decide whether they would use Chatterjee's service to put forth the views of the Left parties inside the Lok Sabha or spare him for the post of the Speaker.