Left leaders' presence at Somnath Chatterjee’s house leave kin miffed

Kolkata, Aug 14: The family of Somnath Chatterjee, who passed away yesterday, were reportedly not pleased to see the presence of Left leaders at the former Lok Sabha Speaker's house.

Left leaders Biman Basu, Surya Kanta Mishra, Sujan Chakraborty and other party leaders had visited Chatterjee's Raja Basanta Roy Road residence in Kolkata on Monday evening to floral tributes.

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

"My father dedicated his entire life to the party but what he faced was only humiliation from its members and nothing else. Biman Basu hurt my father several times. He used to stay at my father's house in Delhi whenever he was in the capital. They used my father, but never gave him the respect that he deserved," a News 18 report quoted Somnath Chatterjee's son Pratap Chatterjee as saying.

Chatterjee's daughter, Anushila Basu, said the CPI(M) wanted to take his body to the party headquarters at Alimuddin Street, but they refused to allow it, reported Indian Express.

"CPI(M) offered a red flag to be placed on my father's body but we refused. It was just a courtesy visit for them but we are not looking for such gestures. They hurt my father and I remember how he cried when the party expelled him in 2008," Anushila said.

Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away at the age of 89 years in a Kolkata hospital on Monday. Chatterjee, who breathed his last at 8:15 AM today was undergoing dialysis. Doctors said he had a cardiac arrest.

Chatterjee, who was suffering from a kidney-related ailment, was admitted to the hospital last week. He suffered a mild heart attack on Sunday morning, but was revived.He was in ICU and was put on ventilation. Chatterjee was readmitted to hospital on August 10 following kidney ailments.