Sunday, March 20 2005 11:38 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Speakers from National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ruled States will not attend the presiding officers' conference in New Delhi today (Mar 20, 2005).

The one-day conference is being held in the backdrop of the Jharkhand crisis when the Supreme Court advanced the trial of strength and directed that the proceedings be videotaped; a directive on which Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee expressed reservations.

It raised the matter of jurisdiction of the legislature and judiciary. Jharkhand speaker Inder Singh Namdhari confirmed that speakers from NDA-ruled states would not attend the meet.

"On Thursday (Mar 17, 2005), I spoke to (NDA convener) George Fernandes. He told me it had been decided that none of the presiding officers from NDA-ruled States would attend," Namdhari said.

Chatterjee had convened an all-party meeting last week at the end of which he had even suggested that a Presidential reference be made to the Supreme Court for opinion on its order.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was opposed to the Speaker's suggestion, had attacked him and talked in terms of tabling a no-confidence motion against him, which it had since put on hold.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker, K Kalimuthu, will also not attend the meeting.