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Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away on Monday, 13 August at a Kolkata hospital. He was 89 years old.
Condolences poured in from across the political spectrum. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that Somnath Chatterjee was “a strong voice for the well-being of the poor and vulnerable.”
Congress President Rahul Gandhi also expressed his grief at Chatterjee’s demise, saying that “He (Somnath) was an institution. Greatly respected and admired by all parliamentarians, across party lines”.
D Raja, CPI Leader, condoled Somnath Chatterjee’s death, saying that the Left Movement had lost a great leader. CPI(M) Leader Sitaram Yechury echoed the sentiment adding that Chatterjee “played a big role in taking up matters concerning the victimisation of the working classes.”
Manoj Jha, RJD Leader, said that Chatterjee’s demise had” left a void”.
In June, the former Lok-Sabha speaker was admitted to the critical care wing of the hospital, following a hemorrhagic stroke, which recovered from. His health declined again on 10 August and he had to be readmitted in the hospital.
Chatterjee had suffered a mild heart attack on Sunday morning, but was revived. He was in the ICCU and was reported as “stable and responding to treatment but still on ventilation.”
Chatterjee was the Speaker of the Lower House from 2004-09 when Manmohan Singh-led UPA- 1 (United Progressive Alliance) was in power. In 2008, he was expelled from the CPI(M) for not resigning as the Speaker after Left parties withdrew support from the UPA-1 government over the Indo-US nuclear deal.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)
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