Remembering Somnath Chatterjee: A stalwart of Indian politics

Shobhit Kalra
Published on: 13 Aug 2018 5:52 AM GMT
Remembering Somnath Chatterjee: A stalwart of Indian politics
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New Delhi: Indian lawyer, politician, and parliamentarian, Somnath Chatterjee was a longtime senior official in the Communist Party of India CPI(M). He served 10 terms in the Lok Sabha between 1971 and 2009, the last of which (2004–09) was as its speaker.

EARLY LIFE

Somnath Chatterjee was born in Assam state but he grew up in Kolkata. His father, Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee, was a lawyer, jurist, and parliamentarian who was a prominent member of the Hindu Mahasabha.

Somnath attended the University of Calcutta, after which he continued his schooling in England, earning a master’s degree at the University of Cambridge and a law degree from Middle Temple in London. Returning to India, he pursued a legal career that included work as a barrister at the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court of India.

POLITICAL CAREER

In 1968, Somnath Chatterjee joined the CPI(M) and first ran for office in 1971. He won the seat in a Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal that was held by his father. He continued to be reelected to the chamber from various constituencies in the state. Although he lost in the 1984 contest to Mamata Banerjee of the Indian National Congress (Congress Party), he won a by-election for a different seat the following year.

He was honoured with the 'Outstanding Parliamentarian Award' in 1996 and was known for his many eloquent speeches. After he was unanimously elected as the speaker of the Lok Sabha in June 2004, Chatterjee attempted to streamline the functioning of the house and improve the conduct of its members.

He soon inaugurated limited live telecasts of the chamber’s proceedings, which increased to 24-hour television coverage in July 2006.

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  • Within the CPI(M) hierarchy, Chatterjee served as the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha from 1989 until he became speaker in 2004.
  • In mid-2008 Chatterjee refused to step down from office after the CPI(M) had withdrawn its support from the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government over the issue of a civilian nuclear agreement between India and the United States.
  • He argued that the speaker’s post was non political and not tied to his party’s status vis-à-vis the government.
  • In July, CPI(M) expelled Chatterjee from the party.
  • In 2009, he announced his retirement from politics at the end of his tenure as speaker.

His autobiography, Keeping the Faith: Memoirs of a Parliamentarian, was published in 2010.

Shobhit Kalra

Shobhit Kalra

Writer has 10 years of experience in digital media. Presently working as Chief Sub Editor at newstrack.com. An avid reader and always willing to learn new things and techniques.

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