Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee dies at 89
Somnath Chatterjee
Chatterjee had had a mild heart attack on Sunday. He passed away early Monday morning.
Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee died early Monday morning in Kolkata. He was 89.
Chatterjee had been in a private hospital in Kolkata where was being treated for kidney problems. He had been undergoing dialysis.
This was the second time in as many months that Chatterjee had been admitted to hospital.
Doctors said Chatterjee had had a mild heart attack on Sunday. He passed away early Monday morning.
Chatterjee had been admitted to hospital on Tuesday. A 12-member team of doctors was keeping a constant watch on him.
Born in Tezpur, Assam, Chatterjee studied law in theUK and joined the CPI(M) in 1968 on returning to India.
Chatterjee was a 10-time Lok Sabha MP.He was elected to the house from 1971 all the way to 2009, with one break from 1984-89, when he was defeated by Mamata Banerjee from Jadavpur.
From 2004 to 2009, he was speaker of the house.
Chatterjee was also a central committee member of the CPI(M). He was expelled from the party in 2008 for refusing to resign as Speaker after his party withdrew support to the UPA-I government.
(With inputs from PTI)