Speaker Somnath Chatterjee still in office

New Delhi, Jul 12: Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee is very much in office and speculation about his resignation was 'baseless', his office sources said here on Saturday, July 12.

Although Mr Chatterjee himself was not available for comment, sources close to the Speaker said he was currently attending an important official meeting at his residence.The speculation on Speaker's resignation assumes importance following reports which indicating that the CPI(M) wanted Mr Chatterjee to quit the office of the Speaker CPI(M) sources said Mr Chatterjee had got the post on the strength of the party's outside support extended to the Congress-led UPA government. Since the Left parties have formally withdrawn their support reducing the government to a minority, it was a convention in all democracies across the world for the governments to have their own Speaker, they said.

Meanwhile, the Speaker's office had earlier issued a statement clarefying that the Speaker has not yet taken any decision on the resignation issue and asked the media to restrain from dragging the highest legislative office of the country into controversies by "speculative reports and undeserved innuendoes''.

UNI