Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee dies of cardiac arrest at 89

Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee died, aged 89, on Monday at a private hospital in Kolkata, following a cardiac arrest and prolonged illness, news agencies quoted nursing home sources.

"He died at 8.15 a.m.," Bellevue Clinic CEO Pradip Tondon told IANS.

Chatterjee was critical following the heart attack he suffered on Sunday. He was also suffering from a kidney-related ailment and was admitted to the clinic in a critical condition on August 7.

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