Somnath Chatterjee was an Indian politician who was the speaker of Lok Sabha during the years 2004-2009. He was a part of the Communist Party of India. Somnath Chatterjee was selected without any opposition to the glorified position to join this illustrious line of Speakers. Somnath Chatterjee is known for his fiscal integrity.
Early Life of Somnath Chatterjee
Somnath Chatterjee was born in Tezpur, in Assam on 25 July 1929. He was born to late Shri Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee, the president of the Akhil Bharati Hindu Mahasabha and late Smt. Binapani Debi. He had his education in Kolkata and the United Kingdom. In Kolkata, he was educated at Mitra Institution School and at Presidency College. After that he attended Cambridge University and has been awarded an honorary fellowship of Jesus College. He did Master degree from Cantab and Barrister-at-Law from Middle Temple in U.K. Somnath Chatterjee was married to Smt. Renu Chatterjee and they have one son and two daughters.
Political Career of Somnath Chatterjee
Somnath Chatterjee started his career as a lawyer. He was a barrister at the Calcutta High Court before joining active politics. In the year 1968 when he joined as an active member to the Communist Party of India (Marxist), he stepped into the arena of Indian Politics. He has been one of the party"s leading spokesmen. In 1971, following the death of his father, Somnath Chatterjee was given a ticket to contest an interregnum election from the same constituency of his father"s. Complying with the election, he became a Member of the Lok Sabha in 1971 and subsequently he became the first independent candidate supported by the CPI (M). He was re-elected for 9 times, except once in 1984 when in the Jadavpur constituency Mamata Banerjee defeated him. He represented the Bolpur parliamentary constituency.
Awards and Honours of Somnath Chatterjee
Somnath Chatterjee won the "Outstanding Parliamentarian Award" in 1996. During Jyoti Basu"s tenure, he was the Chairman of WBIDC and in that capacity he made countless overseas trips to promote FDI in West Bengal. His love for signing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), many of which never came to fruition, earned him the nickname "Mou-da". In 2013, he received "Living Legend Award" at the prestigious "Bharat Nirman Awards".
Death of Somnath Chatterjee
Somnath Chatterjee passed away at a hospital in Kolkata on 13th August 2018. He had earlier suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in June after which his health declined. His health condition had deteriorated and was readmitted to a hospital in Kolkata. He had also suffered a mild cerebral stroke back in 2014.
