Somnath Rules out Saying Sorry to CPM for his Return

Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee has ruled out that he might apply to the CPM for returning to the party.

At a state committee meeting of CPM last month, a senior party leader had proposed that Somnath Chatterjee be brought back. Prakash Karat himself was present at the meeting.

However, Chatterjee ruled out any possibility of his applying to the party for his reinstatement.

“Biman Bose, who is party secretary and Politburo member, has said (this)…since I have not applied, not said sorry, there is no scope of even thinking of revoking the expulsion…I am not keen at all…I am not going to do it…certainly not…” he said.

Somnath criticized the party for its decision to expel him because of his denial to step down from the Speaker’s post and pointed out that the party has paid for it.

“I am not going to apologise because I don’t think I have done anything wrong. Consciously and unconsciously and even in retrospect I feel I was right and if they had accepted my position – in my view, they will not agree – the party’s position would have gone up among the people. Today where is it? My agony is Left parties have become irrelevant…the alternative that was thought of by general secretary is almost a comic attempt in Indian politics and people have rebuffed it,” Chatterjee said.