Veteran Parliamentarian and former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away Monday morning following multi-organ failure in Kolkata. He was 89. Chatterjee had a chequered political career and was associated with the CPM for over 40 years till his expulsion from the party in July 2008 for refusing to resign as Speaker after the CPM withdrew support from the UPA government.
Veteran Communist leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee, passes away at a hospital in Kolkata aged 89. pic.twitter.com/nqWimxjrFy
— NEWS LIVE (@NewsLiveGhy) August 13, 2018
Chatterjee was suffering from kidney-related ailments and suffered a heart attack on Sunday. He was put on ventilator support but passed away at 8.15 am today due to multi-organ failure, Belle Vue Clinic, the hospital where he was admitted, stated. He was earlier admitted to the nursing home on June 25 after suffering a haemorrhagic stroke.
Born at Tezpur in Assam in 1929, Chatterjee, a 10-time MP, was speaker of the lower house of Parliament during the first five-year term of the UPA government from 2004 to 2009.
President Ramnath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled Somnath Chatterjee’s demise, terming him a stalwart of Indian politics.
Sorry to hear of the passing of Shri Somnath Chatterjee, former Speaker of the Lok Sabha and a veteran parliamentarian who had a forceful presence in the House. A loss for public life in Bengal and India. My condolences to his family and innumerable well-wishers #PresidentKovind
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 13, 2018
Former MP and Speaker Shri Somnath Chatterjee was a stalwart of Indian politics. He made our Parliamentary democracy richer and was a strong voice for the well-being of the poor and vulnerable. Anguished by his demise. My thoughts are with his family and supporters.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 13, 2018
