At 7.25 pm, an aide handed over the mobile phone to CPI-M leader Somnath Chatterjee. ‘‘Sir, Manmohan Singh is on the line.’’ Chatterjee, whose name was just cleared by his party for the post of Speaker, took the phone. ‘‘..Thank you prime ministersaab, ..thank you sir, and I also want to tell you that since you have become the prime minister of India, I have also started sleeping peacefully.. thank you sir.’’ The conversation was over.The mood in P-514, Raja Basanta Roy Road in south Kolkata, the residence of Somnath Chatterjee, who is going to be India’s first Marxist Speaker, was euphoric. People from all walks of life came trooping in with flowers. Sweets were distributed and tea was offered. ‘‘I feel elated that we are going to have the first Bengali Speaker,’’ a local resident said.‘‘The PM was telling me that he would have a peaceful sleep tonight as I have been cleared by my party. And I also told him that I had started sleeping peacefully since he had become prime minister. He is such a capable leader and an excellent human being,’’ the 70-year-old Marxist veteran said.He received congratulatory calls from BJP leader Vijay Malhotra yesterday. ‘‘He was telling me his party was happy that I was going to be the Speaker. Malhotra was also saying, ‘Hum aur bhi khush hai kyon ki CPM ka sabse bara bolnewala ka muh abhi bandh rahega’ (the most vocal among the CPI(M) will have to keep his mouth shut,’’a beaming Chatterjee, who has been elected to the Lok Sabha since March 1971, said. But one person who was not very happy was his wife Renu Chatterjee. ‘‘She was not in favour of my accepting the post. She said: ‘‘You are always vocal and can never sit quietly. How can you become the Speaker?’’’ Chatterjee said.He said he hoped he would get support from all sections. ‘‘I have my friends in all parties including the BJP. So I am sure I will not have any problem in conducting the business of the House. And I will especially see to it that everybody including the Opposition gets the chance to speak. I have seen in the past that several times, efforts had been made to stifle the voice of the Opposition. I will see to it that this does not happen any further,’’ Chatterjee said.
