'Speculation of Speaker's resignation baseless'

New Delhi, Jul 9 (UNI) Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee is very much in office and speculation about his resignation was 'baseless', his office clarified today.

Although Mr Chatterjee himself was not available for comments, sources close to the Speaker said he had attended all his official engagements, including receiving a foreign parliamentary delegation this noon, the sources informed.

The clarification from the Speaker came in the wake of reports suggesting that he was expected to resign.

However, CPI(M) sources said Mr Chatterjee had got the post on the strength of 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 Since the Left parties have formally withdrawn their support reducing the government to a minority, it was a convention in all democracies across the world for the governments to have their own Speaker, he remarked.

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