Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee dies at 89

Mr Chatterjee, who was admitted to Bellevue hospital on August 8, was put on ventilator support after he suffered a heart attack. His condition turned critical on Sunday morning.

The 10-time parliamentarian had been in and out of hospital for the last two months. Doctors said he was undergoing dialysis.

Last month, the former speaker had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. After his condition improved, he was discharged from the hospital. But three days later, on Tuesday, he had to be hospitalised again.

Somnath Chatterjee was the key leaders of the CPM, which he had joined in 1968. A 10-time member of the Lok Sabha, he became the Speaker from in 2004 when the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh came to power.