Somnath Chatterjee dies: Former Lok Sabha Speaker and CPI(M) leader Somnath Chatterjee passed away today at a hospital in Kolkata. He was 89 and survived by wife and two daughters. Chatterjee had suffered a mild cardiac arrest on Sunday and was admitted to a hospital here.

Chatterjee was suffering from a kidney related ailment and was admitted to Belle Vue Clinic on Tuesday. According to reports, the leader was responding to treatment well till last night but was put on a ventilator support after his condition deteriorated following a heart attack. He was undergoing dialysis. He had earlier suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in June.

A senior hospital official said that Chatterjee passed away following multiple organ failure. Chatterjee passed away at around 8.15 am after his condition deteriorated. “He suffered a multiple organ failure and had stopped responding to treatment since late last night. He passed away this morning at around 8.15 am,” the official said, according to PTI.

READ MORE: Somnath Chatterjee: 10-time parliamentarian who rebelled against CPI(M) as Speaker, only lost once

Chatterjee, a ten-time MP had served as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha between 2004 and 2009 under the Congress-led UPA government.

Meanwhile, President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi have condoled the demise of Chatterjee. “Sorry to hear of the passing of Somnath Chatterjee, former Speaker of the Lok Sabha and a veteran parliamentarian who had a forceful presence in the House. A loss for public life in Bengal and India. My condolences to his family and innumerable well-wishers,” the President tweeted.

Calling Chatterjee a stalwat of Indian politics, PM Modi said, “Former MP and Speaker Shri Somnath Chatterjee was a stalwart of Indian politics. He made our Parliamentary democracy richer and was a strong voice for the well-being of the poor and vulnerable. Anguished by his demise. My thoughts are with his family and supporters.”

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also condoled the death of former Lok Sabha Speaker and said that Chatterjee’s demise is a ‘great loss for all’. She tweeted: “Saddened at the passing away of former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath (Da) Chatterjee. My condolences to his family and admirers. This is a great loss for us all.”

In a message, Congress president Rahul Gandhi also expressed grief at the death of former Lok Sabha Speaker. In a tweet, he said: “I mourn the passing away of Shri Somnath Chatterjee, 10 term MP and former Speaker of the Lok Sabha. He was an institution. Greatly respected and admired by all parliamentarians, across party lines. My condolences to his family at this time of grief.”

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that Chatterjee was one of the greatest parliamentarians of contemporary times and he will always be missed by the country.  “He will be remembered among the greatest Lok Sabha Speakers India ever had,” the AAP leader said.

Chatterjee was a member of the CPI(M) between 1968 and 2008. He was nominated to contest an interim election in 1971 that was necessitated following the demise of his father. Chatterjee became an MP in that year with support from the CPI(M). He was a member of the Lok Sabha from 1971 to 2009, except in 1984 general elections when Mamata Banerjee had defeated him. In 1996, Chatterjee was honoured with ‘Outstanding Parliamentarian Award’. After 2004 general elections, he was appointed as the pro tem Speaker and subsequently elected as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, thus becoming the second pro tem Speaker to be elected as the Speaker after Ganersh Vasudev Mavalankar unanimously.

The leader was, however, expelled from the CPI(M) in 2008 for refusing to resign as the Speaker after his party withdrew support to the Congress-led UPA-I government.