Somnath not sure if he’ll chair House session

Forty-eight hours before the post-recess session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee is not sure whether he would chair it when the government brings the much-awaited office-of-profit Bill giving relief to 46 MPs accused of holding such offices.

The reason: ‘‘If the Bill addresses the overall issue there is no reason why I should not chair the session. But, as I’ve made it quite clear earlier, if it specifically mentions the position (held by him) I would not be chairing it,’’ Chatterjee said. And, he has little idea of what is in store despite the fact that the Bill is supposed to have been drafted after evolving a consensus among the political parties.

With Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi — the crucial link between the various parliamentary functionaries — caught up in the Assembly elections in West Bengal like many of his colleagues in other states, the final picture is yet to emerge. — santwana.bhattacharya@expressindia.com