 Lord Elis-Thomas said he and Dr Marek had disagreed for months |
Welsh assembly presiding officer Dafydd Elis Thomas has denied trying to force one of his top officials to quit. Lord Elis-Thomas has been accused by his deputy, Dr John Marek, of plotting to remove the assembly's clerk, Paul Silk, without consulting AMs.
In response, Lord Elis-Thomas said Dr Marek was clearly "pursuing a political interest" over their differences.
The dispute emerged last week after Dr Marek publicly criticised the presiding officer.
 |  I regret the fact that we have been unable to come to an agreement and that he has chosen to pursue his disagreement publicly |
He condemned Lord Elis-Thomas' handling of the departure of Mr Silk, 54, due in January next year, just months before the assembly receives new powers.
Crickhowell-born Mr Silk, who has been the principal adviser to the presiding officer for almost five years, has decided not to apply for the post of chief executive and assembly clerk.
Dr Marek, AM for Wrexham - a former Labour party member who resigned to join the independent party Forward Wales - said he was "appalled" at the way Mr Silk had been treated by Lord Elis Thomas.
He accused him of "plotting" for changes in August - a time when assembly members were not sitting.
Giving his response to BBC Wales, Plaid Cymru AM Lord Elis-Thomas said Dr Marek, was acting for "his own party political reasons".
Constitution
He said: "I don't need to plot with anyone.
"I have had a number of private discussions with Dr John Marek about these matters over the past six months.
 Mr Silk is to stand down from his post in January next year |
"I regret the fact that we have been unable to come to an agreement and that he has chosen to pursue his disagreement publicly."
He added it was "possibly not good for the assembly but I'm assuming he's doing it for his own party political reasons, which he's entitled to do.
"Clearly he is pursuing a political interest. I have to pursue the interest of the assembly and the whole of Wales."
Lord Elis-Thomas described the row over Mr Silk's departure as the "growing pains of a new democratic institution".
He insisted there was no question of him "plotting," as the sub-committee of AMs overseeing the change to the new powers, had decided the new chief executive post must be advertised.
He added that the new appointment should be open to anybody, not just civil servants, in order to employ the best person for the role.
It had been expected Mr Silk would continue to manage the 280 staff transferring over to the new assembly commission from next May.
Mr Silk has said that it was clear to him that "someone with a different skill set from mine" was being sought to take on the new post of chief executive and assembly clerk.
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