Somnath Chatterjee

Infobox_Indian_politician


name = Somnath Chatterjee
caption =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1929|7|25|df=y
birth_place = Tezpur, Assam
residence = Kolkata
death_date =
death_place =
constituency = Bolpur
office = MP
salary =
term =
predecessor =
successor =
party =None
religion =
spouse = Renu Chatterjee
children = 1 son and 2 daughters
website =
footnotes =

date = September 17
year = 2006 |
source = http://164.100.24.208/ls/lsmember/biodata.asp?mpsno=73

Somnath Chatterjee (Bengali: সোমনাথ চট্টোপাধ্যায়) (born July 25, 1929 in Tezpur, Assam) is an Indian politician who had been associated with CPI M for most of his life, though currently an independent.Fact|date=September 2008 He is currently the Speaker of the 14th Lok Sabha (House of the People).

Education and family background

Born into an aristocratic Calcutta family, Somnath's father, Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee, was a prominent lawyer and intellectual around the time of India's independence, and his mother, Binapani Debi [http://164.100.47.134/newls/Biography.aspx?mpsno=73] ran the home. Somnath was educated at Mitra Institution School, Presidency College and then the University of Calcutta in Calcutta. He also attended Cambridge University and has been awarded an honorary fellowship of Jesus College. 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 joining active politics.

Somnath's father N.C. Chatterjee at one time had been a Hindu revivalist, and was one of the founders and one-time president of the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, but he developed differences with the Hindu nationalist tone espoused by the party, which is a forerunner of today's BJP.http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/340802.html] . In 1948, when the communist party was banned in India and party leaders arrested, he formed the All India Civil Liberties Union, and agitated for their release. In the process, he came close to Jyoti Basu. He eventually left the Hindu Mahasabha when he got elected to the Parliament with CPI(M) support.

Political career

Somnath Chatterjee was a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) from 1968 to 2008. In 1971, he was nominated to contest an interim election caused by the death of his father, who had been elected from that constituency. He became a Member of the Lok Sabha in 1971 and was elected the first time as an independent candidate supported by the CPI(M). Subsequently he was re-elected 9 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 present 14th Lok Sabha from Bolpur Lok Sabha constituency, which is considered to be a CPI(M) stronghold. Following the election, on June 4 2004 he was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 14th Lok Sabha.

Expulsion from the CPI (M)

After the CPI (M) withdrew its support for the United Progressive Alliance-led government in mid-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.Fact|date=August 2008 Chatterjee, however, appeared unwilling to follow the party line to vote against the government in a crucial July 2008 confidence vote, as voting against the government would mean voting alongside the right-wing opposition BJP. [ [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"] , "Hundustan Times", July 17, 2008.] 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 July 23 2008, the CPI (M) expelled him from the party for violation of party discipline. [ [http://www.headlinesindia.com/main.jsp?news_code=79560 "Somnath pays price for violating party line"] , IANS (headlinesindia.com), July 23, 2008.] 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." [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=July 23 2008|publisher=CNN IBN|accessdate=2008-07-23] 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." [citenews |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080724/jsp/frontpage/story_9593437.jsp |title= The Telegraph]

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. [Santosh H K Narayan, [http://www.headlinesindia.com/main.jsp?news_code=80023 "No taker of Speaker's suggestion"] , headlinesindia.com, August 1, 2008.]

Awards and honors

In 1996 he won the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award. 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 penchant for signing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), many of which never came to fruition, earned him the nickname "Mou-da". After Buddhadeb Bhattacharya became the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Somnath's influence within the party and the state government waned considerably, although as Speaker of the Lok Sabha he held a constitutional position of importance. [cite news |title="Somnath Chatterjee -- Profile" | url=http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=457419&sid=NAT |author=Zee News Bureau]

Somnath's chair as speaker got tainted a bit, as he could not act immediately when cash-for-drama discredited the parliament. He is still evaluating to take a decision on tainted MPs who defected their parties.

Controversies

In 2005, he was caught in a controversy over his statement on the 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. [ [http://www.tehelka.com/story_main40.asp?filename=Ne020808theconscientious.asp "The Conscientious Marxist"] Tehelka Retrieved 2008-08-18] He asked for a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Indian Constitution. This remark was criticised by BJP which supported the Supreme Court's decision." [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.]

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." [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.]

Personal life

Chatterjee married Renu Chatterjee, who hails from the royal family (Rajbari) in Lalgola, on February 7, 1950. The couple have one son, Pratap and two daughters, Anuradha and Anushila.

Somnath Chatterjee is 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 [http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=328584] . On trips abroad, he bears the expenses of any accompanying family members.

References

External links

* [http://www.speakerloksabha.nic.in/biography.asp Biography of Shri Somnath Chaterjee]
* [http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/14171506.htm News article in the Hindu Business Line: "Somnath Chatterjee likely to be Speaker"]
* [http://www.calcuttayellowpages.com/somnathch.html Biography from Calcutta Yellow Pages.com]
* [http://164.100.24.208/ls/lsmember/biodata.asp?mpsno=73 Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website]