Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away on Monday morning. He was 89. He is survived by his wife, son and two daughters.
He had been ill for the past two months. He was under treatment at a private hospital in Kolkata for kidney-related ailments and placed on ventilator support last Tuesday. “Mr. Chatterjee passed away at 8.15 a.m. due to multiple organ failure,” said Pradeep Tandon on behalf of the hospital.
Within an hour of Mr. Chatterjee’s demise, leaders from various political parties arrived at the hospital.
“Somnath Chatterjee was a senior politician, an eminent lawyer, multiple times MP and former Lok Sabha Speaker. We are deeply saddened by his demise,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told journalists after her visit.
The former Speaker’s body was taken to the Calcutta High Court little after mid-day where members of the Bar Association paid homage to him. As his body was being taken to the State Assembly about 150 metres away, the Chief Minister walked alongside the hearse.
Mr. Chatterjee was given gun salute in the State Assembly following which his body was taken to his residence at around 3 p.m. where Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi and other leaders paid their last respects to him. Mr Chatterjee’s body was donated to SSKM Hospital later in the evening.
Published - August 13, 2018 09:31 am IST
