Communism no party’s monopoly, says Somnath

October 3rd, 2009 GUWAHATI - Assamese artists recently brought laurels to the State and the country by winning medals at the Seoul Drum festival. Their success has projected the unique quality of the folk music of Assam in the international arena.ssamese artiste Somnath Bora and Dr Prasanna Gogoi made people in the State proud, by winning medals in individual and group categories at the Seoul Drum Festival held in South Korea.

September 23rd, 2009 KOLKATA - Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee Wednesday said that politics of confrontation should be avoided and that there were "some national issues which we need to achieve working together". Chatterjee was speaking at the inauguration of Ambuja Realty's 'Ecospace' Business Park here Wednesday.

June 15th, 2009 LUCKNOW - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday held a meeting to review its poor Lok Sabha poll performance in Uttar Pradesh but top leaders like party president Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi, Maneka Gandhi, her son Varun were conspicuous by their absence. Nearly 50 party members attended the meeting chaired by state BJP president Ramapati Ram Tripathi and senior leader Kalraj Mishra.

May 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Following a chest congestion, outgoing Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee was admitted to the Army's research and referral hospital here on Thursday. His condition is said to be stable and he has been advised complete bed rest for a few days.

May 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee was Thursday admitted to hospital with chest congestion, his office said. Chatterjee has been admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi.

May 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Outgoing Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee Wednesday termed as 'without any basis or foundation' the statement of Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh that he had requested him to support the Congress-led government on the India-US nuclear deal. Amar Singh made the remarks at a press conference here prompting Chatterjee to issue a statement saying 'it is regretted that the speaker has been dragged into a needless controversy'.

May 13th, 2009 KOLKATA - Questioning whether the Left parties were indeed getting stronger, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said Wednesday that their importance lay in the fact that 'no one is ignoring them'. 'Is the Left getting stronger?' Chatterjee asked while replying to questions related to the strength of Left parties in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

April 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Somnath Chatterjee, the speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha, Monday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the successful launch of the RISAT-2 spy satellite and an educational satellite. 'The country is proud of ISRO scientists for this remarkable achievement, which will provide a boost to India's capabilities in a number of areas, including disaster management and in better management of cyclones, floods, agriculture-related activities,' Chatterjee said in his congratulatory message.

April 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Lashing out at Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee for his comment that withdrawal of support by the Left parties to the UPA government was a mistake, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat Monday said it revealed his 'pro-Congress stand'. The outgoing Lok Sabha speaker had in an interview to NDTV said he had cautioned the Left parties against withdrawing support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government over the India-US nuclear deal last year.

February 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Calling former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee a 'great human being', former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee Friday recalled how the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran stopped him from quitting during his early days as speaker. It had all started with a letter written by Vajpayee, chairperson of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), who wrote alleging that Chatterjee was biased and that his conduct was not up to the mark.

February 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A day after laying down office as Lok Sabha speaker, which also marked the conclusion of an almost four decade long political career, veteran leftist Somnath Chatterjee Friday asserted that communism was no political party's 'monopoly' - and that he would forever remain a 'comrade'. 'Communism is no party's monopoly.

February 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Communism is not the 'monopoly' of any political party, veteran Left leader and always the 'comrade' Somnath Chatterjee asserted Friday, a day after he laid down office as Lok Sabha speaker and bid adieu to a four-decade career in politics. 'Communism is no party's monopoly.

February 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had emerged as a role model in transacting the business of the house, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Thursday, the last day of the 14th Lok Sabha. In a message read out by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the prime minister said: 'In transacting the business of the parliament you have become the role model.' With his conduct, the speaker had raised the bar of standard of the office for others to follow, the prime minister, who is recuperating after a coronary by-pass surgery, added.

February 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee Monday congratulated Gulzar, A.R. Rahman, Resul Pookutty of the 'Slumdog Millionaire' and the team of 'Smile Pinky' for having brought laurels to the nation by winning Oscars.

February 5th, 2009 KOZHIKODE - Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Kerala state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan Friday called Lok Sabha Speaker and former party member Somnath Chatterjee as the 'biggest traitor of the party'. The comment came during a rally here when state Cooperation Minister G.