Editing Somnath Chatterjee

{{Short description|Indian politician (1929–2018)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2020}} 
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = The Speaker, Lok Sabha, Shri Somnath Chatterjee addressing a press conference, in New Delhi on February 27, 2009.jpg
|caption = Chatterjee in February 2009
| name = Somnath Chatterjee
|honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
|honorific-suffix = [[Member of parliament|MP]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1929|7|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Tezpur]], [[Assam Province|Assam]], [[British India]]
| residence = [[Kolkata]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2018|08|13|1929|07|25}}
| death_place = [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
| office = [[Speaker of the Lok Sabha]]
| term_start = 4 August 2004
| term_end = 16 May 2009
| president           =  
*[[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]]
*[[Pratibha Patil]]
| primeminister       = [[Manmohan Singh]]
| 1blankname          = [[Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha|Deputy Speaker]]
| 1namedata           = [[Charanjit Singh Atwal]]
| 2blankname         = [[Leader of the House in Lok Sabha|Leader of the House]]
| 2namedata          = [[Pranab Mukherjee]]
| predecessor = [[Manohar Joshi]]
| successor = [[Meira Kumar]]
| office2 = [[Member of Parliament]], [[Lok Sabha]]
| constituency2 = [[Bolpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Bolpur]], [[West Bengal]]
| term_start2 = 19 May 1985
| term_end2 = 16 May 2009
| predecessor2 = [[Saradish Roy]]
| successor2 = [[Ram Chandra Dome|Dr Ram Chandra Dome]]
| constituency3 = [[Jadavpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Jadavpur]], [[West Bengal]]
| term_start3 = 28 April 1977
| term_end3 = 15 June 1984
| predecessor3 = [[Indrajit Gupta]]
| successor3 = [[Mamata Banerjee]]
| constituency4=  [[Burdwan (Lok Sabha constituency)|Bardhaman]], [[West Bengal]]
| term_start4 = 18 May 1971
| term_end4 = 12 May 1977
| predecessor4 = [[Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee]]
| party = [[Independent politician|Independent]] (2008–2018)<br />[[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] (1968–2008)
| otherparty = 
| alma_mater = Mitra Institution Bhowanipur Branch<br/>[[University of Calcutta]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[University of Cambridge]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])<br/>[[Middle Temple]] ([[Barrister-at-Law]])
| profession = [[Lawyer]] 
| spouse = {{marriage|Renu Chatterjee|7 February 1950}}
| father = [[Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee]]  
| children = 3
| footnotes = 
| website = 
| signature =
}}

'''Somnath Chatterjee''' (25 July 1929 – 13 August 2018) was an Indian politician who was associated with the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] for most of his life, though he had been a non affiliated independent during his last decade. He was the [[Speaker of the Lok Sabha]] (House of the People) from 2004 to 2009.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/former-ls-speaker-somnath-chatterjee-dies-at-89/articleshow/65381547.cms | title=Somnath Chatterjee, former Lok Sabha Speaker, dies at 89 | work=[[The Times of India]] | date=13 August 2018 | access-date=13 August 2018}}</ref>

==Education and family background==
His father, [[Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee]], was a prominent lawyer, intellectual, and Hindu revivalist and nationalist around the time of India's independence, and his mother, Binapani Debi<ref>{{cite web |url=http://164.100.47.134/newls/Biography.aspx?mpsno=73 |title=Lok Sabha |access-date=2008-09-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916125132/http://164.100.47.134/newls/Biography.aspx?mpsno=73 |archive-date=16 September 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> ran the home. Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee was one of the founders and one-time president of the [[Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha]]. In 1948, when the [[Communist Party of India]] was banned by the [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] led [[Indian National Congress]] government in India, and its party leaders arrested, Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee formed the All India Civil Liberties Union, and agitated for their release. In the process, he came close to [[Jyoti Basu]], in spite of continuing ideological political differences between the two.<ref name=indexp>{{cite web|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/340802.html|title=Latest News, Breaking News Live, Current Headlines, India News Online - The Indian Express|website=www.indianexpress.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080824213152/http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/340802.html|archive-date=24 August 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="MM2018">{{cite web | url=https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/news/india/former-lok-sabha-speaker-and-veteran-communist-leader-somnath-chatterjee-passes-away-at-the-age-of-89/articleshow/65387254.cms | title=Former Lok Sabha Speaker and veteran Communist leader Somnath Chatterjee passes away at the age of 89 | publisher=[[Mumbai Mirror]] | work=Jayatri Nag | date=13 August 2018 | access-date=14 August 2018}}</ref>

Somnath was educated at [[Mitra Institution]] School, [[Presidency College, Kolkata|Presidency College]] and then the [[University of Calcutta]] in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]]. He also attended [[Jesus College, Cambridge]] and graduating with a B.A. in 1952 and a M.A. in 1957, both in law, has been awarded an honorary fellowship by the college in 2007.  He was called to the bar from the [[Middle Temple]] in [[London]] and took up legal practice as an advocate at the [[Calcutta High Court]] before entering active politics.<ref name="IE2018">{{cite web | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/somnath-chatterjee-dead-5303730/ | title=Somnath Chatterjee, former Lok Sabha Speaker, dies at 89 | publisher=Indian Express | work=Santanu Chowdhury | date=13 August 2018 | access-date=14 August 2018}}</ref><ref name=MM2018/>

==Political career==
[[File:Mohd. Hamid Ansari, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Speaker, Lok Sabha, Shri Somnath Chatterjee and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.jpg|thumb|Chatterjee with Prime Minister [[Manmohan Singh]] and other senior leaders at the Lok Sabha in December 2008]]
Somnath Chatterjee was a member of the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] (CPI(M)) from 1968 to 2008. He became a Member of the Lok Sabha in 1971 when he was elected the  first time as CPM (Marxist Communist) candidate from [[Burdwan (Lok Sabha constituency)]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elections.in/parliamentary-constituencies/1971-election-results.html|title = 1971 India General (5th Lok Sabha) Elections Results}}</ref> Subsequently, he was re-elected nine times, except once when he lost to [[Mamata Banerjee]] in the Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency in 1984. From 1989 until 2004 he was the leader of his party in the Lok Sabha. He was elected for the tenth time in 2004 as a member of the [[14th Lok Sabha]] from Bolpur Lok Sabha constituency, which is considered to be a CPI(M) stronghold. Following the 2004 election, he was appointed the pro tem speaker and subsequently on 4 June 2004 he was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 14th Lok Sabha.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/only-mamata-banerjee-could-defeat-somnath-chatterjee-1312879-2018-08-13 | title=Only Mamata Banerjee could defeat Somnath Chatterjee | publisher=[[India Today]] | work=Prabhash K Dutta | date=13 August 2018 | access-date=14 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/comrades-unsung-gain-was-court-s-loss-252124?ref=india-new-stry | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814035955/https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/comrades-unsung-gain-was-court-s-loss-252124?ref=india-new-stry | url-status=dead | archive-date=14 August 2018 | title=Comrades' (unsung) gain was court's loss | publisher=Telegraph India | date=14 August 2018 | access-date=14 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="AA2018">{{cite web | url=http://www.asianage.com/india/all-india/140818/somnath-chatterjee-89-dies-kin-shuns-cpms-condolence.html | title=Somnath Chatterjee, 89, dies, kin shuns CPM's condolence | publisher=[[Asian Age]] | date=14 August 2018 | access-date=14 August 2018}}</ref>

===Expulsion from the CPI (M)===
After the CPI (M) withdrew its support for the UPA-led government in 2008, the party included Chatterjee's name on its list of MPs who were withdrawing their support from the government, despite his non-partisan position as Speaker. Chatterjee, however, appeared unwilling to follow the party line to vote against the government in a crucial July 2008 [[United Progressive Alliance#Vote of confidence|confidence vote]], as voting against the government would mean voting alongside the right-wing opposition BJP.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081008005730/http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=de97a497-5dae-4970-be86-ee3c8e8cb7c7&MatchID1=4735&TeamID1=8&TeamID2=6&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1194&PrimaryID=4735&Headline=Speaker+adamant%2C+may+quit+LS%2C+CPM&strParent=strParentID  "Speaker adamant, may quit both House and party"], ''Hindustan Times'', 17 July 2008.</ref> Ignoring the party's instructions, he decided to stay on in his post as Speaker of the House, acting in this capacity during the confidence vote. Following the vote, which the government survived, on 23 July 2008, the CPI (M) expelled him from the party for violation of [[party discipline]].<ref>[http://www.headlinesindia.com/main.jsp?news_code=79560 "Somnath pays price for violating party line"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007173457/http://www.headlinesindia.com/main.jsp?news_code=79560 |date=7 October 2008 }}, IANS (headlinesindia.com), 23 July 2008.</ref> A CPI (M) [[press release]] said, "The Politburo of the Communist Party of India-Marxist has unanimously decided to expel Somnath Chatterjee from the membership of the party with immediate effect. This action has been taken under Article XIX, clause 13 of the Party Constitution for seriously compromising the position of the party."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ibnlive.com/news/somnath-chatterjee-shown-the-door-by-cpim/69418-3.html?xml |title=CPI-M fails to pull down Govt, sacks Somnath|date=23 July 2008|publisher=CNN IBN|access-date=2008-07-23}}</ref> Bengal secretary [[Biman Bose]] said "Chatterjee may have acted according to the Indian Constitution but the party constitution is supreme in [the] case of party members."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080724/jsp/frontpage/story_9593437.jsp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080727014701/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080724/jsp/frontpage/story_9593437.jsp |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 July 2008 |title= The Telegraph}}</ref>

According to Chatterjee, the expulsion was "one of the saddest days" of his life. He suggested that future speakers should resign from their parties while serving in that office to help ensure its non-partisan standing.<ref>Santosh H K Narayan, [http://www.headlinesindia.com/main.jsp?news_code=80023 "No taker of Speaker's suggestion"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007173518/http://www.headlinesindia.com/main.jsp?news_code=80023 |date=7 October 2008 }}, headlinesindia.com, 1 August 2008.</ref> His constituency of Bolpur had already been reserved for the [[Scheduled Castes]], meaning he would have been unable to contest the seat in the [[2009 Indian general election|next election]]; he announced in August 2008, following his expulsion from the CPI(M), that he would retire from politics at the time of the next election in 2009. He was broadly respected in his constituency; the CPI(M)'s 2009 candidate, [[Ramchandra Dom]], expressed admiration for Chatterjee and vowed to continue his work, while the Congress candidate, [[Asit Mal]], said that the people of Bolpur were "hurt at the way [Chatterjee] was driven out of the CPI-M" and that their feelings would "be reflected in the results".<ref>Sirshendu Panth, [http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/retired-somnath-chatterjee-omnipresent-in-old-constituency_100174951.html "Retired Somnath Chatterjee omnipresent in old constituency"], IANS (thaindian.com), 3 April 2009.</ref>

===Awards and honors===
In 1996 he won the [[Outstanding Parliamentarian Award]].

in 2013, he received Living Legend Award at the prestigious Bharat Nirman Awards.

==Controversies==

In 2005, he was caught in a controversy over his statement on the [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]] orders related to the vote of confidence  in the [[Jharkhand]] Assembly. He said that the Supreme Court was encroaching on the right of the Legislature by issuing orders on the proceedings of the Jharkhand Assembly.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120911115200/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main40.asp?filename=Ne020808theconscientious.asp "The Conscientious Marxist"] [[Tehelka]] Retrieved 2008-08-18</ref>  He asked for a [[Presidential reference]] to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the [[Constitution of India|Indian Constitution]]. This remark was criticised by [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] which supported the Supreme Court's decision.<ref name=trib>''[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050311/main1.htm Speaker to seek Kalam’s view on SC order]'', The Tribune India, 10 March 2006. Accessed 27 September 2006.</ref>

The Opposition demanded his resignation because he held an office of profit as Chairman of Santiniketan Sriniketan Development Authority (SSDA). He argued that since he did not profit from the office, the demand was baseless.<ref name=hindunews>''[https://web.archive.org/web/20060913031630/http://www.hindu.com/2006/03/25/stories/2006032514081200.htm Not holding any office of profit, says Somnath]'', The Hindu, 25 March 2006. Accessed 27 September 2006.</ref>

==Personal life==
Chatterjee married Renu Chatterjee, who comes from a zamindar family in [[Lalgola]], on 7 February 1950.<ref name=indexp/>  The couple have one son, Pratap and two daughters, Anuradha and Anushila. Pratap Chatterjee was practising at [[Calcutta High Court]].<ref name=MM2018/>

Somnath Chatterjee was known for his fiscal integrity.  When in 2004, as speaker, he moved into the official residence at 20 Akbar Road, he discontinued the practice of paying for toiletries and tea from the national exchequer.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=328584|title=Somnath Chatterjee: House arrest|first=Saubhadra|last=Chatterji|newspaper=Business Standard India|date=14 July 2008|via=Business Standard}}</ref>  On trips abroad, he bore the expenses of any accompanying family members.

===Death===
Chatterjee died at a private hospital in [[Kolkata]] on 13 August 2018 morning. An asthmatic and a diabetic, he was keeping indifferent health since the past three years. He was hospitalised on a few occasions hence. The expulsion from CPI (M) in 2008 and his daughter Anuradha's death in late 2017 nearly shattered the once asserting Speaker, Lok Sabha.  He had suffered a stroke in June, and his condition had deteriorated in the following weeks.<ref name=IE2018/> His family asked the Communist party leaders to leave his funeral and refused to allow his body to be draped by the party flag.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/we-dont-want-cpim-to-put-their-flags-on-fathers-body-says-somnaths-daughter/article24678829.ece | title=Somnath Chatterjee's family rebuffs CPI(M) request | publisher=The Hindu | work=Soumya Das | date=13 August 2018 | access-date=14 August 2018| last1=Singh | first1=Shiv Sahay | last2=Das | first2=Soumya }}</ref><ref name=AA2018/><ref>Verma, Rupal. [http://dbpost.com/somnath-chatterjee-passes-away-some-lesser-known-facts-about-former-lok-sabha-speaker/ "Somnath Chatterjee passes away: Some lesser known facts about former Lok Sabha Speaker"], 'DBPOST. 13 August 2018. [https://web.archive.org/web/20180813110124/http://dbpost.com/somnath-chatterjee-passes-away-some-lesser-known-facts-about-former-lok-sabha-speaker/ Archived] from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved on 13 August 2018.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.calcuttayellowpages.com/somnathch.html Biography from Calcutta Yellow Pages.com]

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{{commons category-inline}}

{{Speakers of the Lok Sabha}}
{{Eleventh to Fourteenth Lok Sabha, West Bengal}}
{{First to Tenth Lok Sabha, West Bengal}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatterjee, Somnath}}
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:Bengali lawyers]]
[[Category:Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Inns of Court School of Law]]
[[Category:Presidency University, Kolkata alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:Communist Party of India (Marxist) politicians from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Indian barristers]]
[[Category:Politicians from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Speakers of the Lok Sabha]]
[[Category:India MPs 1971–1977]]
[[Category:India MPs 1977–1979]]
[[Category:India MPs 1980–1984]]
[[Category:India MPs 1984–1989]]
[[Category:India MPs 1989–1991]]
[[Category:India MPs 1991–1996]]
[[Category:India MPs 1996–1997]]
[[Category:India MPs 1998–1999]]
[[Category:India MPs 1999–2004]]
[[Category:India MPs 2004–2009]]
[[Category:Lok Sabha members from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Pro tem speakers of the Lok Sabha]]
[[Category:People from Birbhum district]]
[[Category:People from South 24 Parganas district]]