Manmohan Singh meets Somnath Chatterjee
24 Jul 2008, 1218 Hrs

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New Delhi, July 24 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh met Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee at his residence early this morning.

The meeting held a day after the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) expelled him from the party for refusing to follow the party's advice regarding resignation from the Speaker's post.

The discussion between the two is still unknown. Jayanti Natarajan, a Congress spokesperson said that Chatterjee's expulsion would have no bearing on his continuation as Speaker.

"Chatterjee does not belong to any party, as he lost his affiliation with his party after being elected Speaker," Natarajan added.

The Speaker had been under pressure to quit the Constitutional post after the Left withdrew support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

However, Chatterjee, refused to toe the party line and chaired the House during the special session on July 21 and July 22, when the Government won the confidence vote. (ANI)