Left parties lash out at Somnath

Left parties reacted sharply to Somnath Chatterjee’s dubbing their withdrawal of support to the government as a “mistake”, with the CPI(M) even alleging that his support to the Congress-led coalition and continuation as the Speaker were “inter-connected”.

Left parties on Monday reacted sharply to Somnath Chatterjee’s dubbing their withdrawal of support to the government as a “mistake”, with the CPI(M) even alleging that his support to the Congress-led coalition and continuation as the Speaker were “inter-connected”.

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“By admitting his pro-Congress stand, Chatterjee has exposed the moral high ground he took that the Speaker is above party politics,” CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said in a strongly worded reaction.

“His support to the Congress-led government and his continuance as the Speaker are inter-connected,” Karat, under whose leadership the CPI(M) had asked Chatterjee to quit the high office last year, told PTI.

Karat’s comment came a day after Chatterjee said he had sent a note to the CPI(M) asking them not to withdraw support but continue opposing the nuclear deal. Chatterjee was expelled from CPI(M) after he refused to step down following Left’s withdrawal of support.

Asserting that his party does not agree with him on the issue, CPI Secretary D Raja asked “why should the Speaker comment on the stand taken by political parties? His role became a flash-point during the debate on the confidence vote. His position has been untenable and contradictory, exposing his pro-government politics,” Raja said.