A 10-time Lok Sabha MP, Chatterjee was a central committee member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, which he had joined in 1968. He was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009.
The India-US nuclear deal was aimed at ending India's nuclear isolation and nuclear apartheid, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
'The President is the First Citizen of India. To me, he is the First Servant. The essence of politics is serving the people,' former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee tells Rediff.com's Indrani Roy in an exclusive interview.
Noting that communalisation and criminalisation have "greatly vitiated" the political system of the country, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee warned on Sunday that the future of democracy can face serious problems if urgent corrective steps are not taken.
Surprised at his name being proposed for the Presidential post, former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has said he will consider the move if there is a large consensus on it.
The opposition bharatiya Janata Party had threatened to stall proceedings in the Lok Sabha if the government did not agree to a discussion
Soon after Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee made obituary references to former members Baldev Singh Jasrotia and Ashfaq Hussain, Bharatiya Janata Party members were on their feet demanding resignation of Antulay and criticising the government for not making a statement on the issue. BJP members continued sloganeering over the Antulay issue, while Left members led by Basudeb Acharia were on their feet demanding withdrawal of the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill.
The petitioner had a Congress background and in the recorded conversation, deregatory references were said to have been made against apex court judges.
Within hours of Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee's expulsion from the CPI-M, several leaders from the ruling UPA coalition thronged his residence to express their solidarity with one expressing readiness to accept the veteran Marxist in his party.
Instead of blaming politicians and parties, Indians must empower their elected representatives and bureaucracies to meet national challenges by making critical investments in leadership. One of the chief aims of Indian foreign policy is to establish the country as a great global power. It is no secret, though, that much of this battle must be won at home.
The curtain has been finally brought down on the reference of disorderly conduct of 32 parliamentarians to the Privileges Committee of the Lok Sabha. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, through an order issued on Tuesday, has withdrawn from the Committee the references relating to 31 opposition National Democratic Alliance Members of Parliament, for their disorderly conduct in the House on April 24.
It will be starting from the scratch for several leaders, big and small, with the redrawing of Parliamentary constituencies as their pocket boroughs have disappeared following the delimitation exercise.
In a stinging attack at his former party, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said on Tuesday that the Communist Party of India-Marxist has reduced itself to a "non-actor" in national politics after withdrawing support to the Congress-led coalition describing the action as a "big blunder".
The Prime Minister "congratulates A R Rahman, Resul Pookutty (sound engineer), Gulzar (lyricist), and entire Slumdog Millionaire team for the success at the Oscars," a PMO spokesperson said. Singh said "they have done India proud".
Seeking to steal a march over Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar-led Janta Dal-United announced on Thursday that its five Lok Sabha members from Bihar will resign on Friday to protest the attacks on North Indians in Maharashtra.
Speaker urges unambiguity in rule-making
The Parliamentary committee examining the cash-for-vote scam has no plans as of now to call Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and Congress leader Ahmed Patel for questioning.
Action against Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee was decided well before the trust vote, but was not announced lest it should affect discussion over issues that prompted the party to withdraw support to the UPA Government, Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Wednesday expelled Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who defied the party's order to resign from his post and presided over the two-day trust vote debate.
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee inaugurated the company's year-long platinum jubilee celebrations on Wednesday.
A high-level Indian parliamentary delegation, headed by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, arrived in Bahrain on Thursday.
With Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray targeting some Members of Parliament from Bihar, including Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Wednesday said that such references amounted to contempt of the House.
DMK president M Karunanidhi told reporters that Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee will release a special postal cover on the occasion.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Wednesday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could undertake a foreign visit during the Parliament session, but other ministers should not go abroad without his permission.
Mahajan was known for his ability to carry with him friends and opponents alike, the tributes said.
She has also resigned as chairperson of the NAC.
President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and several other leaders greeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who turned 75 on Wednesday.
The right to recall as a strategy for enforcing greater accountability of Parliamentarians is expected to come up for discussion in the Commonwealth conference.
Ravi said that a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs had been fixed with the agenda of proroguing them, to have a fresh session in February with the Presidential address on the first day.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Tuesday disqualified Telugu Desam Party MP M Jagannath, who defied a party whip and voted for the Congress-led United Progressive government in a trust vote He was diusqualified according to the Anti-Defection Law under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, a Lok Sabha release said.
The Speaker referred to the Home Ministry the matter related to Sanjeev Saxena, alleged aide of Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, Sudheendra Kulkarni, a close aide of senior BJP leader L K Advani, and Suhail Hindustani, a day after the parliamentary inquiry committee said there was need for further investigation into the roles played by them.
The gory memories of the 2001 Parliament attack came alive at a function to mark the martyrdom of the security personnel who laid down their lives to save the symbol of Indian democracy.Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of Opposition LK Advani, chairperson of United Progressive Alliance Sonia Gandhi and other senior leaders of various political parties offered floral tributes.
"Personally I have lost my father for the second time in Jyoti Basu's death," former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Sunday said expressing his deep shock over the Marxist patriarch's death.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram said he bowed down to the Speaker's observation, and admitted that an ordinance in taxation matters should not be promulgated.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has been admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi following chest congestion.
The Speaker ruled that these did not relate to the Union government, nor were they matters of recent occurence.
Feeling "tortured" by the Left parties' repeated "questioning" of his decisions, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Friday threatened to step down "here and now" as a protest against "insult" to the Chair. Chatterjee said a "new culture" had emerged in the House wherein the members "go on questioning" the Speaker's ruling.
The committee will inquire into cases of misconduct of members of Lok Sabha, including misuse of parliamentary privileges and facilities by them and submit its report within the month.
For that matter, almost every main political party in the House had turncoats in the crucial trust vote that the government won comfortably. They include Congress, Janata Dal-United, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Shiv Sena, Telugu Desam Party, Telangana Rashtra Samiti, National Loktantrik Party and NPF. The Lok Sabha Secretariat had already served the show cause notices on the concerned MPs, asking why they should not be expelled for defying the whip.
The suspended Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian was arrested while trying to take a woman to Canada on his wife's passport after allegedly striking a deal of Rs 27 lakh with her through a travel agent.
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