Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee dies at 89

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away at a private hospital in Kolkata on Monday morning following multiple organ failure, a senior hospital official said.

He was 89 and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi mourned the death of Chatterjee. "He was an institution. Greatly respected and admired by all parliamentarians, across party lines. My condolences to his family at this time of grief," Gandhi Tweeted.

Chatterjee passed away at around 8.15 am after his condition deteriorated following Sunday's "mild heart attack", the official said.

Chatterjee was suffering from a kidney-related ailment and was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition on Tuesday last.

"He suffered a multiple organ failure and had stopped responding to treatment since late last night. He passed away this morning at around 8.15 am," the official told PTI.

Chatterjee had suffered a mild heart attack on Sunday morning but was revived. He was undergoing treatment in the ICCU.

Last month, the former speaker had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke.

He was under treatment for the past 40 days and was discharged from the hospital just for three days after his health showed signs of improvement.

However, his condition deteriorated last Tuesday and he had to be hospitalised again, the official said.

A 10-time Lok Sabha MP, Chatterjee was a central committee member of the CPI(M), which he had joined in 1968.

He was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009.

The veteran leader was, however, expelled from the CPI(M) in 2008 for refusing to resign as the Speaker after his party withdrew support to the UPA-I government.