Indian ex-Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee dies

Indian former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who was hospitalised in a critical condition last week, breathed his last this morning following a prolonged illness.

He had suffered a heart attack on Sunday morning. Chatterjee was 89.

The veteran Left leader was being treated in the intensive cardiac care unit (ICCU) of of Bellevue Clinic in Kolkata. He had been undergoing dialysis, and was put on ventilator support.

"He died at 8:15am," Bellevue Clinic CEO Pradip Tondon told the media.

The 89-year-old had been critical following the heart attack he suffered on Sunday.

Tondon said Chatterjee suffered a multiple organ failure and had stopped responding to treatment since late Sunday night.

Chatterjee, regarded as an outstanding parliamentarian, had been the Lok Sabha Speaker from 2004 to 2009.

He was suffering from a kidney-related ailment, and was admitted to the nursing home on June 25 after he suffered a haemorrhagic stroke. After treatment for 40 days, he had been discharged, but had to be brought back to the hospital after just three days as his condition deteriorated on August 7.

A 10-time Lok Sabha member, Somnath Chatterjee was expelled from the Communist Party of India-Marxist on July 23, 2008, "for seriously compromising the position of the party" as he had refused to resign as the Speaker after the CPI-M withdrew support to the first United Progressive Alliance government over the India-US civil nuclear deal.

Copyright: Asia News Network/ The Statesman