While it is not yet clear what was discussed between the two leaders, the UPA has made no secret of the fact that for it the expulsion does not affect Chatterjee's continuation in the post of Speaker.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had already said that Chatterjee could remain Speaker with support of the treasury benches. To remove a sitting Speaker, the Lok Sabha needs to pass a no confidence motion sponsored by 50 members.
A number of Union ministers and UPA leaders also met Chatterjee today. Among them were ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Ram Vilas Paswan, Renuka Chowdhury, Raghuvansh Prasad and Narayan Swamy.
The MPs who flocked to Chatterjee's residence included Congress' Navin Jindal, Subbarami Reddy and Karan Singh, Samajwadi Party's Revati Raman.
"The Speaker is deeply hurt with the expulsion decision of the party. However, we will not let him resign as UPA is firmly behind the Speaker," Paswan said summing up the mood in the ruling coalition.
