Nation mourns death of ex-Speaker of Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee

Chatterjee passed away around 8.15 am after his condition turned critical following a mild heart attack on Sunday, a hospital official said. “He suffered multiple organ failure and stopped responding to treatment late last night,” the official said. His body was taken to the state Assembly, where it was accorded a gun salute, and then to his residence. Chatterjee, who was associated with the Communist Party of India-Marxist for most of his life, had donated his body to medical science. It will be handed over to the government-run SSKN hospital.

He had suffered a cardiac arrest, systemic sepsis and renal failure along with respiratory problems and underlying diabetes, said a senior doctor, who was treating him. He had suffered a haemorrhagic stroke in July.

Meanwhile, Chatterjee’s family rejected the request of the CPI(M) leadership to drape the expelled member’s body in the red flag and allow him to be taken to the party’s West Bengal state headquarters for people to pay their last respects.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Chatterjee was a stalwart of Indian politics. “He made our parliamentary democracy richer and was a strong voice for the well-being of the poor and vulnerable,” Modi said. In a statement, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami expressed grief over the veteran’s demise and recalled Chatterjee’s long association with the CPI(M), besides his 10-time stint as MP. DMK working president MK Stalin described his demise as a “great loss” for the country. He was a “close friend” of DMK president and his father M Karunanidhi, Stalin said in a statement.