New Delhi: 

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee

The CPI (M) is likely to take strict disciplinary action against Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee after he "defied" the party direction to step down as the presiding officer of the lower house, party sources said yesterday.

The disciplinary action can even be expulsion from the primary membership of the CPI (M), the source said. The CPI (M) politburo has been authorised by its central committee to deal with the speaker's issue and may take a decision tomorrow.

Ignoring party

Ignoring the party directive, Chatterjee presided over the proceedings of the special session of the Lok Sabha yesterday that began debating the trust motion moved in the house by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

He was advised by the party to quit the post of speaker after the CPI (M)-led Left parties withdrew their legislative support to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government over the India-US nuclear deal.