Speaker told Advani: how did you allow them to wave cash?

Ravi said all that Advani could say was that “circumstances” led to such a development. Advani, he said, also accepted that what happened was “inappropriate”.

According to Ravi, the Speaker put his foot down to ensure that the session carried on with the vote on the motion of confidence. “It required a lot of grit and authority on the part of the Speaker to take a decision that Somnath Chatterjee took. We appreciate him for that,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called on the Speaker today. Singh, who drove to Chatterjee’s residence, did not speak to reporters after the meeting that lasted about 10 minutes. But it is learnt that he appreciated the manner in which the Speaker conducted the House.

Ravi was among the UPA ministers to call on the Speaker. Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters after meeting Chatterjee that the Speaker had the backing of the House. “Chatterjee’s expulsion by his party does not change his position” as Speaker, Paswan said, adding “he will continue to receive our support”.

Ravi said Chatterjee has done “a wonderful job” as Speaker. “All his activities as a Speaker till date have only added glory to that post. He deserves to be there,” he said.

Ravi said it was “wrong on the part of the Left” to have included the name of Chatterjee in the list of MPs withdrawing support to the Government. “It was silly of them to belittle a prestigious post like that of the Speaker,” he said.

According to Ravi, the CPM always wanted the Speaker to be under its control. “What they have forgotten is that the Speaker’s post is much beyond party line and discipline. The incident has only shown that CPM as a party has no regard for democratic values,” he said. By expelling Chatterjee from the party, Ravi said, the CPM was the loser and not the other way round.