Garhwal Post Bureau
New Delhi, 25 Jul: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla paid floral tribute to former Lok Sabha Speaker the late Somnath Chatterjee in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan, on his birth anniversary, today.
Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Harivansh, Members of Parliament, former Members of Parliament and other dignitaries also paid floral tributes to Somnath Chatterjee in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan, on this occasion.
Secretary-General, Lok Sabha, Utpal Kumar Singh, and Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha, PC Mody, also paid tribute to Somnath Chatterjee.
Somnath Chatterjee was born on 25 July 1929 in Tezpur, Assam. A distinguished lawyer by profession, he entered active politics in 1968 and was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1971. Over the course of an exceptional parliamentary career, he served ten consecutive terms as a Member of Parliament. On 4 June 2004, Chatterjee was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 14th Lok Sabha, a position he held with great distinction until 31 May 2009.
Renowned for his intellect, oratory, and deep commitment to parliamentary values, Chatterjee played a pivotal role in elevating the quality of debates in the House. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Indian parliamentary system, he was conferred the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 1996.
During his tenure as Speaker, he introduced several key initiatives to modernise and democratise parliamentary functioning. Notably, he oversaw the launch of Lok Sabha Television (LSTV), a 24-hour parliamentary channel, in July 2006, and inaugurated the high-tech Parliamentary Museum in August 2006.
A portrait of Somnath Chatterjee graces the Outer Lobby of the erstwhile Lok Sabha Chamber in Samvidhan Sadan. It was painted by Manish Kumar Rao and unveiled on 10/2/2014 by the then President of India, Pranab Mukherjee.
