2009 Poll Prospects And Alignments

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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->  <b>CPM names Somnath in list </b>
Pioneer News Service | New Delhi
<b>Speaker has also withdrawn support to Government</b>
The souring of relations between the Congress and the Left has put a question mark on Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's continuation in office. The Left Front kicked up a controversy on Wednesday as its letter to President Pratibha Patil, <b>withdrawing support to the UPA Government, included Chatterjee's name as one of the 59 Left MPs.</b> 

The development led to speculation that Chatterjee would quit as the Speaker since the Left has withdrawn support to the Government. Though CPM general secretary Prakash Karat left it to Chatterjee to take a decision, he also left him no choice but to quit. When asked about Chatterjee, he said: "I am sure the Speaker will decide on his own, taking into account all the circumstances." This statement made it amply clear that the party would want Speaker to put in his papers.

According to senior leaders, the Left Front just followed "propriety in a formal communication to the President" by including the names of all its members. This, however, left a big question on whether Chatterjee in his capacity as the Speaker could be included in the list of a party. A senior leader referred to DD Basu's "Commentary on Indian Constitution" to say that once a member becomes a Speaker, he did not belong to any party.

Though the Left said that it was Chatterjee's decision, the ruling Congress alliance said it would neither press for the Speaker's resignation nor create circumstances that would lead to such an action.

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So Speaker is out.