The CPI(M)'s Central Committee would begin a crucial meet in New Delhi on Saturday to chart out its role in the prevailing political turmoil, even as it left out Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee from the whip to vote against the Government during the confidence motion on July 22.
The exclusion of Chatterjee is significant as the CPI (M) has so far maintained that he should toe the party line to vote against the government.
A day ahead of the two-day meet of the decision-making body, a three-line whip was issued to 41 CPI(M) MPs asking them to reach the national capital on July 20 and be present in Lok Sabha on the next two days besides voting against the government. Besides Chatterjee, Left-backed independent from Kerala, Sebastian Paul, has also been left out.
CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat while maintaining that it was for the Speaker to take a decision on resigning his post, contended that a person holding this high office does not cease to have political affiliations.
"After someone ceases to be a Speaker, they resume political activities," he said in a recent interview.
"We don't follow the British precedent in India...we have a former Speaker as the Home Minister and another former Speaker is the leader of one of the opposition groups in Lok Sabha. So all this talk of Speaker sans party and politics is hypocritical," he said.
The Central Committee would debate the decisions taken by the Politburo in the recent past, including the talks the top CPI(M) leadership has been holding with several political leaders like UP Chief Minister Mayawati and others.
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