Radhakrishnan’s comments came on a day when the CPM said a “disinformation campaign” had been doing the rounds on the inclusion of the Speaker’s name in the list of MPs who withdrew support to the Government.

Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said the “Speaker’s name should be included in the CPM list as he was elected as a CPM candidate but with an asterisk denoting that currently he is the Lok Sabha Speaker, as is the normal Parliamentary practice.”

In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Chief Minister and CPM politburo member V S Achuthanandan said it was up to the Speaker to take a decision on his resignation. Speaking to reporters, he said the Speaker’s office should not be dragged into controversies. “The party general secretary (Prakash Karat ) has made the stand clear on the issue. It is up to the Speaker to take a decision on his resignation,” he said.

But CPM-backed independent MP Sebastian Paul also criticised Chatterjee’s stand, saying he had the political responsibility to obey the party line on the issue.