Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee passes away

Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee passes away

Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee passes away: Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee passes away at the age of 89 years in a Kolkata hospital.

He was in hospital and put on ventilator support after he suffered a heart attack.

Eighty-nine-year-old Chatterjee, who was suffering from a kidney-related ailment, was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday.

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

Last month, the former speaker had suffered a haemorrhagic stroke.

A 10-time Lok Sabha MP, Chatterjee was a central committee member of the CPI-M, which he had joined in 1968.

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

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