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Speaking to The Indian Express, he said: “I have never questioned the authority of the party to expel me. I have not questioned it, I have not challenged it. At the highest level, they have decided that I am not fit to be in that party and I have accepted it. Why should I try to impose myself on them through other processes? That’s that. That’s the greatest scar in my heart, I shall carry it till my last breath,” he said. “I have donated my body to a hospital...Therefore, I am not going to the grave but to the hospital with the scar.”
(The full text of the interview will be published tomorrow)
In the run-up to his expulsion, during the controversy around the nuclear deal trust vote in Parliament when the CPM wanted him to quit, Chatterjee said that CPM veteran Jyoti Basu had not asked him to quit when they met in Kolkata in July 2008, days before the vote.
Asked about that conversation, Chatterjee said: “For that, you have to wait for my memoirs. Except that I can say, ‘If he had said that day to resign, I would have done that. Unquestionably, unhesitatingly.”
Chatterjee added: “But I have a right to disagree with certain things. I disagreed then and I disagree now about (the party’s view on) participation in governance. I think that was a blunder. I reiterate that, along with comrade Jyoti Basu (who called the CPM’s decision not to agree to the proposal to make him the Prime Minister a historic blunder). I know I cannot be expelled again for saying this. I am already expelled, I am a free man.”
Chatterjee, however, clarified he was never a candidate for the post of President. “I can tell you with all my honesty and modesty but with total conviction that I never, never, never, never, never even dreamt of it or asked for it,” he said.
He said: “Comrade Prakash (Karat) came to me and told me that the party has decided not to propose a name for the post of President. I only said, ‘Why have you come and told me? Did I ask anybody, anybody, anybody, anybody in this world’?”
He said that becoming the Speaker itself was “a surprising situation.” “I know my party’s stand...the then party’s.
A President has to say my government has done it, how can a Communist say ‘My government’?”
Referring to the debate about the V S Achuthanadan’s difference with the CPM on the CBI’s request for prosecuting party state chief Pinarayi Vijayan, Chatterjee said: “You cannot be a Chief Minister by ignoring the Constitution. Some people have reminded me correctly that the country has a Constitution and the party has a constitution. But so far as official activity is concerned, it has to be the Constitution of India. As Speaker, I cannot say that under such and such rule of the CPM, I overrule this. Can I say that? Can the Chief Minister say that?”
Chatterjee said that his strong positions on issues, more often than not misunderstood, were to reiterate the supremacy of Parliament. That’s why he opposed ordinances, such as the one on judges’ salary. “I hope judges will not accept the pay hike that will come to them through an ordinance,” he said.
Looking back at the term as Speaker, Chatterjee said he was going with a feeling of under-achievement as the space for meaningful debate had shrunk because of politics of confrontation. He felt the day cash was brought to the House (cash-for-votes scandal) as the worst day in the history of Parliament. “If there was a genuine attempt to bribe, that’s condemnable but that does not minimise the crime that was committed by bringing it (the money) inside the House,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of a return to the CPM, he said: “Not on my account, not on my initiative... Otherwise I would have tried earlier...because I am no longer of any use to the party. The party has no use for me and I have no future for myself.”
As he begins his long walk out of an eventful political life spanning about four decades, the MP who was the voice of the CPM in Parliament for long, and always its quintessential outsider, hopes his contributions to Parliament will stay on: the Lok Sabha Channel, the Museum and the Hiren Mukherjee memorial lecture. What next? Go to Shantiniketan, do some social work, read a lot of books and listen to music.
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SOMNATH CHATTERJI HAS BEEN THW WORST SPEAKER WE HAD HE SHOULD LOOK AT PASANGMA A MAN OF PRINIPLES AND VALUE NEVER SURRENDERED TO ANY PARTY BUT SOMNATH HAS SOLD HIMSELF TO AMARSINGH MULAYAMSINGH COMBINED AND CONGRESS PARTY AND NEVER LISTED TO THE CPM ON WHOSE TICKET HE HAS BEEN ELECTED ARE CORE OPPURTUNIST PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER TIMES TO COME I FAIL TO UNDERSATNS HOW THE HOSPITAL HAVE ACCPTED HIS REQUEST FOR THE BODY THEY SHOULD HAVE REFUSED IT AS PEOPLE REFUSE TO BURY THE 9 DEAD TERRORISTS IN MUMBAI ATTACK AS HE HAS NOT KEPT THE RESPECT FOR THE CHAIR OF SPEAKER
SOMNATH CHATTERJEE SIR, I FEEL WAS MOST UNDESIRABLE AND DISHONEST PERSON TO OCCUPY THIS OFFICE---ONLY 2 EXAMPLES--WHEN POLICE WAS SEARCHING SHIBUSOREN SOMNATH HAD MEETINGS WITH SHIBU AND OUR SPEAKER DID NOT DO BASIC CITIZEN'S DUTY TO INFORM POLICE--INFACT HE HAS HELPED TO HIDE FROM POLICE FOR FEW MORE DAYS--- NEXT CASH FOR VOTE SCANDLE-- FIRST HE CONSTITUTED A COMMIYTEE AFTER LONG DELIBERATIONS AND THEN DELAYED AND DELAYED TO SUBSQUENTLY ASK CBI TO INVESTIGATE AND THAT ALSO ONLY PART OF IT---WHY HE DID NOT ASK POLICE ON DAY ONE TO PROBE--HE KNOWS SITTING IN CHAIR OF SPEAKER ANY COMMEITEE WILL NEVER DECIDE AGAINST THE GOVT--FUNNY HE THINKS IF ANY ONE IS CRIMINAL HE SHOULD JUST GET MEJORITY VOTE IN COMMITEE OR PARLIAMENT TO BE DECLARED HONEST?
his obeyance to party leader shows his anti feelings for kerala leaders.It is known fact that When Jyoti basu was leader everybody followed him and Mr karat is the Chief the Bengali communists are upset.What a selfishness.
Somanath has donated his body to Jyothi Basu, Buddha, Sonia and her friends, but his mind he kept to himself
He is the most biased speaker ever. He covered open corruption in the Parliament history to please Congress.He should do some soul searching.
Somnath should also appreciate that his party (erstwhile) did not ever ask him to use his coveted position for party's advantage in the house. Also it is his duty to divulge after he demits office as to he truly supported or rejected it. If he did indeed support it one would also like to know what was the objective of supporting the same. Was it in the hope of obtaining access to technologies hitherto denied to us? Or, was it in thehope of generating "cheap?" electricity to meet our evergrowing demand? The later is unlikely to happen as every ss nuclear energy is said to be costlier than any while the former, although I am supportive, is unlikely to happen. Somnath should also throw some light to the facts as to why people in West Bengal could not achieve (despite three decades of communist regimes) the best standard of living in the country which their comrades in far south could achieve even with intermittant communist regimes. Lal Salam
I agree with you. He is obsessed with anti BJPism,even if it does good for the nation.He asked people to listen to Rahul Gandhi while he kept quiet when people like ErramNaidu are speaking against N-deal. He is the one dictator minded person who does not like judiciary. He may not be corrupt but he supported corruption.
Somnath Chaterjee is always needed for a health democracy and long life for India as a whole. His tenure will definitley be remembered by all parties for conducting Lok Sabha in a manner as it has to be. Shri Chaterjee never compromised with law and those who take law in his hand. I wish Somnath Dada becomes President of India one day, no doubt. I have a great respect for him, though we never met each other. He took all good decisions during his tenure and as a Speaker of present Lok Sabha, he performance is "outstanding".A big "good luck" and healty
In fact Somnath has inflicted would on every Indians by his partisan attitude in the parliamanrt, be it be Amar Singh episode ot Cash-for-query scam for Cash-for-Vote scam - In all incidents Somnath has shown that he is made for Congress and UPA. The scan he has inflicted on every Inaida will never be forgotten.
We in Maharashtra have no affiliation to the communists...and their thinking...however as an individual i do feel that Somnath Chaterjee represented the good in Indian politics...Mr.Karat ( if he is human) should take a step backward and bring Mr.Chaterjee - who is at the twilight of his career and life -back home.
A big horn and as a LokSabha speaker a big thorn. He will be remembered as LokSabha speaker who ran the house with immense partisanship and was neck deep corrupt. His tenure will also be remembered for threatening the judiciary and ignoring and suppressing the voice of the opposition. All the above qualities are by default in any communist party worker, and that is another story that is party kicked him out for all he implemented and learnt from CPI cadres.Moral is inflated egos, immoral to their job and white collared corrupt people have this thing to face in end. Unlike Mr Rao, Mr Vajpayee,Mr Advani and so on.Good news that we are getting rid of this third degree politician at last by end of his term. How nice a democracy can be …….I wish he should live for 100 years or perhaps more……