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Somnath Chatterjee

Personal Profile

Somnath Chatterjee
  • Date of Birth:
    July 25, 1929
  • Zodiac Sign:
    Leo
  • Place of Birth:
    Tezpur, Assam
  • Sex:
    Male
  • Nationality:
    Indian
  • Education:

    Calcutta University, Calcutta

    Cambridge University and Middle Temple (U.K.)

  • Hobbies:
    Gardening, Reading and Watching sports events
  • Address:
    P-514, Raja Basanta Roy Road, Kolkata- 700 029
    Office of Hon`ble Speaker - Lok Sabha Raj Bhawan Annexe, Kolkatta - 700 062
  • Email:
    somnath@sansad.nic.in
  • Phone:
    033 - 4644321, 4662203, 4646666
    033 - 22000160,
  • Fax:
    033 - 4662900, 033 - 22000161

Family

Somnath Chatterjee
  • Father:
    Late Shri N.C. Chatterjee
  • Mother:
    Late Smt. Binapani Debi
  • Spouse:
    Renu Chatterjee

Career

Somnath Chatterjee

Trivia

Somnath Chatterjee
  • He argued that since he did not profit from the office, the demand was baseless.[
  • The Opposition demanded his resignation because he held an office of profit as Chairman of Santiniketan Sriniketan Development Authority (SSDA).
  • 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.
  • He said that the Supreme Court was encroaching on the right of the Legislature by issuing orders on the proceedings of the Jharkhand Assembly.
  • 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.
  • Following the election, on June 4, 2004 he was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 14th 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.
  • From 1989 until 2004 he was the leader of his party in the Lok Sabha.
  • 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).
  • In 1971, he was nominated to contest an interim election caused by the death of his father, who had been elected from that constituency.

Quotes

Somnath Chatterjee
  • “He has the best wishes of the entire nation. Let's hope he recovers very soon.”
  • “These senseless acts of violence are being committed in a nefarious attempt to disrupt the even tempo of our lives and to upset India's unity and integrity.”
  • “It is a matter of grave concern that at a time when the inquiry was already going on against some MPs on allegations of having accepted money for questions in the House, fresh allegations have come up against other MPs.”
  • “I deeply mourn the occasion (the riots).”
  • “He wants to invoke the threat of polls (new elections), which the allies do not obviously want at this stage.”
  • “The stampede has added to grief of flood-ravaged victims. We deeply mourn the loss of lives and join bereaved families in their hour of sorrow.”
View all Quotes: Somnath Chatterjee

Biography

Somnath Chatterjee
Last Updated: Friday, September 25, 2009

Somnath ChatterjiSomnath Chatterjee was in Tezpur, Assam is a politician in India. He is currently the Speaker of the 14th Lok Sabha. The father of Somnath Chatterjee, Nirmal Chandra Chatterjee, was the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, an organization that championed Hindu causes and a forerunner of today’s BJP. Later he left Hindu Mahasabha to join left politics and was elected to the Parliament with CPI support.

Chatterjee was educated at Mitra Institution School (Calcutta), 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 in England and was a litigating barrister at the Calcutta High Court before joining active politics. Chatterjee is a member of the Communist Party of India – Marxist. He joined the party in 1968. In 1971, he was given a ticket to contest an interim election caused by the death of his father who was 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).

Somnath Chatterjee began his career as a lawyer and joined active politics in 1968, when he became a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He has been one of the party’s leading spokesmen. His association with national politics began when he contested the elections to the Lok Sabha in 1971 and was elected the very first time. Since then, he has served as a member in all successive Lok Sabhas, except in 1984 when he lost to Mamata Banerjee , getting elected for the tenth time in 2004 as a member of the present 14th Lok Sabha.

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