New Delhi: BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) today (Dec 16, 2004) made it apparent that it was unhappy with Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and sought a meeting to discuss the way the House was functioning.

It also maintained that it had not referred to him but to the Government as 'dictatorial', a charge Chatterjee had cited this morning when he said he would rather quit.

"We don't want to discuss anything publicly on the Speaker but NDA (National Democratic Alliance) has a lot to say on the manner the House is functioning. We want him to convene a meeting to discuss all the issues including the Government backtracking on the commitments made at the all party meeting", BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman V K Malhotra told reporters in New Delhi.

He was responding to a question on the Speaker's offer to resign if the members were not happy with him.

Malhotra replied in the affirmative when asked whether the Opposition had complaints against "others" besides the Government over the functioning of the House.

NDA leaders would also be meeting soon to discuss the issue, he said.

The BJP Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha, however, clarified that the party had referred to the Government as 'tanashah' (dictatorial) over which the Speaker had taken strong exception and offered to step down.

"We continue to maintain that this Government has been behaving in a dictatorial manner since day one. It has given up all traditions, it has toxified everything in the name of detoxification. It has removed Governors, officials and even educationists. Efforts are on to have a committed judiciary, bureaucracy and employees", he said.