New Delhi, July 21: The House was full, the galleries packed and leaders on every side braced themselves for the Great Debate — but the indubitable star of today’s show sat at the very centre, revelling in the knowledge that he was making history.

A hush fell on the Lok Sabha when Speaker Somnath Chatterjee entered at the dot of 11am, silencing the buzz in the media gallery above that he was about to announce something momentous.

Chatterjee kept the suspense going and began with some routine business — calling out new members of the House to be sworn in. Once that was done, he prolonged the agony of expectation. Someone caught the word “sad” and immediately concluded that the Speaker was about to make a sombre resignation speech — finally giving in to the CPM leadership’s diktat that he quit as Speaker or else….

But no, the word “sad” was in the context of the demise of former parliamentarians and other luminaries such as Sam Manekshaw who had passed away since the House last met.

After reading out the obituary notices, the real proceedings of the day began.

As his stentorian voice rang out with the words “I don’t have to impress upon you all the importance of the motion that is going to be debated, the whole nation is watching”, they seemed the right opening lines for a dramatic declaration.

Was the sideshow of Speaker-versus-party that had overshadowed the drama of the trust vote reaching a climax?

In the next few sentences, Chatterjee made it clear that it wasn’t. He was his usual head-masterly self, alternately appealing to and admonishing MPs “to maintain the dignity of Parliament”.

Resorting to one of his famous Bengalised Hindi phrases, he said, “There may be some toka-toki (taunts), but order should be maintained. The Chair has no subject of his own except that the House is run.”

Never was “business as usual” so imbued with drama. Chatterjee was thumbing his nose at the party, telling them that he would keep his Chair and they could snatch away his seat.

“Honourable” Speaker was the honorific he preferred, thank you, not “Comrade” Chatterjee.

Oblivious of the party’s disciplinary sword hanging over him, the Speaker went about conducting the House with his usual aplomb.

Arguably the most loquacious Speaker in the Lok Sabha’s history, Chatterjee kept up a steady commentary – intervening when speakers clashed, adjourning the House briefly when some BSP and Samajwadi Party members nearly came to blows, and indulging in a bit of light-hearted banter when things got a little heated.

But his most telling comment came in the midst of Samajwadi leader Ram Gopal Yadav’s speech. When Yadav mocked the coming together of “Lal” Krishna Advani and the “Lal Jahnda” (red flag), Chatterjee quipped: “Arre, Lal itna kharab nahin, achcha hi hain.” (Red isn’t so bad, it is pretty good.)

Was that a sop to the party or the sarcasm of a renegade-to-be? The Speaker, for now, isn’t telling.