Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee Dies At 89

New Delhi: Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee died on Monday morning at the age of 89.

The veteran parliamentarian suffered a massive heart attack on Monday and breathed his last at 8.10 am.

He was admitted to Belle Veu Clinic in Kolkata on Tuesday after suffering a cardiac arrest.

He was suffering from a kidney-related ailment.

A 12-member team of doctors was keeping a constant watch on the veteran politician, the official said.

Somnath Chatterjee – A distinguished Parliamentarian who wore many hats
Last month, the former speaker had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke.

He underwent a treatment for 40 days and was thereafter discharged.

However, his condition deteriorated last Tuesday and he had to be hospitalised again, a official said.

A ten-time Lok Sabha MP, Chatterjee was a central committee member of the CPM, which he had joined in 1968.

He won the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 1996.

He was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009.

The veteran leader was expelled from the CPM in 2008 for refusing to resign as the Speaker after his party withdrew support to the UPA-I government. (ToI)