In the face of continued defiance by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, the CPI(M) Central Committee on Sunday chose to avoid any strong action, preferring to leave the issue to the Politburo, but censured a senior West Bengal leader who supported the Speaker.

"The Central Committee has said the Politburo should deal with the issue and take a view on the matter, decide on what is appropriate and whenever it is appropriate," party General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters in New Delhi.

He was replying to questions on the issue which has brought Chatterjee in the eye of a storm for defying the party, which wanted him to quit the high constitutional post.

In a related development, the Central Committee also "publicly censured" Subhas Chakraborty, West Bengal Transport Minister and state secretariat member of the West Bengal unit, for "challenging the party line" and asked him to "conform to the norms of the party".

Chakraborty had opposed the party line to seek the Speaker's resignation and to vote against the UPA government along with the BJP. He had later expressed regrets on going public.