CPM calls Somnath Chatterjee a defector

NEW DELHI: CPM on Monday retaliated against former Speaker Somnath Chatterjee’s tirade against party general secretary Prakash Karat, describing the former party leader as a defector to the ruling establishment who is trying to justify his actions. Polit bureau member Biman Bose also stepped in to thwart the attempts of the former comrade to suggest that the West Bengal unit was against his expulsion, saying that it was Mr Chatterjee’s conduct that invited the extreme action.

A statement issued by the polit bureau said there were several “false assertions” in Mr Chatterjee’s forthcoming book and rejected his claim that five members of the polit bureau decided to expel him the day after the trust vote in the Lok Sabha in 2008.
“It is unfortunate that Mr Chatterjee has sought to draw comrade Jyoti Basu’s name into this matter when he is no more. All the other views expressed by him are just post-facto justifications of a person who defected to the ruling establishment,” the statement said.

It said the decision to take disciplinary action against Mr Chatterjee was taken at a full polit bureau meeting on July 19, 2008. It decided to convey to him that he should forthwith resign from Speakership and not preside over the Lok Sabha session during the trust vote. The polit bureau concluded that if he refused to do so he should be expelled from the party as it would amount to helping the Congress-led government, with which the Left had parted ways over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

The central committee of the party which met on July 20 was apprised of the situation and it authorised the polit bureau to take disciplinary action against Mr Chatterjee if he violated the decision.

“Somnath Chatterjee had earlier in a letter to the party dated July 9, 2008, agreed to abide by the decision of the party and resign from the post of Speaker. He later backed out from this commitment to abide by the party decision,” the statement said.

However, Congress came to the defence of the former Lok Sabha Speaker and attacked the Left. “The Left wants to live in a mind-controlled world where anyone who disagrees with them is found to be a defector,” Congress’ Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

Mr Chatterjee, who defied his party and continued as Speaker during the trust vote, has been critical of the Left’s decision to withdraw support to the UPA and blamed Mr Karat for the Left’s electoral debacles. In his book, Keeping the Faith: Memoirs of a Parliamentarian, which will be released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on August 21, Mr Chatterjee has described the CPM general secretary as “arrogant” and “an intolerant man”.