New Delhi, 25 July (H.S.): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday paid a heartfelt tribute to former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee in the Central Hall of the Constitution House on his birth anniversary.

In a post on X, Birla said that Chatterjee’s unwavering commitment to preserving parliamentary traditions, encouraging healthy democratic debate and upholding the dignity of the House would always remain a source of inspiration.

Somnath Chatterjee, a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), was born on July 25, 1929, in Tezpur, Assam. A distinguished lawyer by profession, he entered active politics in 1968 and was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1971. He went on to serve as a Member of Parliament for ten consecutive terms.

Chatterjee was unanimously elected Speaker of the 14th Lok Sabha on June 4, 2004, and remained in office until May 31, 2009. For his outstanding contribution to Parliament, he was awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 1996.

During his tenure as Speaker, he introduced several important initiatives to modernise and democratise parliamentary functioning. Notably, he launched Lok Sabha Television, the 24-hour parliamentary channel, in July 2006 and inaugurated a high-tech parliamentary museum in August 2006.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar