Saturday, January 29 2005 15:38 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee today (Jan 29, 2005) termed as 'unfortunate' Forward Bloc's criticism of his absence at the Parliament's Central Hall to observe the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, saying the Parliament was not the only place to pay homage to the leader.

''Who says appropriate homage was not paid to Netaji unless it was not done in the Central Hall? And how does it make news?'' an annoyed Chatterjee said when asked to comment about Forward Bloc's criticism of him for not being present in the Central Hall to pay homage to Netaji on his birthday on January 23.

Chatterjee was talking to newsmen after addressing the first convocation of the Naval Tata Centre of Excellence in Sports Management in Kolkata.

Pointing out that he had taken the initiative to organise 'Netaji Utsav' at his constituency Bolpur, Chatterjee said, ''What do they have to say to that, I wonder.''

Without naming Forward Bloc MP Debabrata Biswas, who had publicly criticised Chatterjee for his absence in the Central Hall, the Speaker said, ''It is unfortunate that a senior member of the House is raising such issues. The party has three MPs. What initiative have they taken on the occasion?''

Forward Bloc, founded by Netaji, and Chatterjee's party CPM (Communist Party of India-Marxist) are part of the Left alliance, which is providing external support to the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government at the Centre.