Somnath's action tantamount to violating party discipline : Biman

Kolkata, Jul 23 (UNI) Coming out in support of the party's stand against Mr Somnath Chatterjee, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and state committee secretary Biman Basu today said the Lok Sabha Speaker's refusal to step down from the Chair amounted to violation of party discipline.

'' What he has done is tantamount to violation of the party discipline. He is going by the Indian constitution, but not adhering to the party's. There is a clause in the party's constitution for taking disciplinary action in such cases, '' he told reporters.

Mr Basu's remark came shortly after the CPI(M) Polit Bureau, at its meeting in Delhi, decided to expel Mr Chatterjee from the party for not toeing the directive of the leadership to relinquish the post of Speaker and join in the Trust vote in Parliament against the Congress-led UPA Government.

The CPI(M) leader said the constitution of a Communist party was always binding over all members, who would have to follow it strictly.

Accordingly, when the party decided to withdraw support to the UPA Government, every party member was bound to follow that line. '' He (Somnath Chatterjee) said he would resign after the Trust Vote, but he has not done so, '' Mr Basu said.

The CPI(M) state secretary was one among the top leaders, who had recently met party patriarch Jyoti Basu recently to discuss the stalemate arising out of Mr Chatterjee's defiance of the party. The others, who were in the meeting, were CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadedb Bhattacharjee.

UNI KDG-AKM SJC/src1838