Finally, CPI(M) mourns Somnath but skips mention of his ties with party

Prakash Karat-led CPI(M) expelled Chatterjee when he refused to quit as Lok Sabha Speaker over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal in 2008

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away on Monday morning. Chatterjee was a member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for 40 years, representing it in Parliament for 10 terms. It took nearly five hours for his party to issue a statement expressing sorrow. But there was not a single mention that Chatterjee was a member of the party.

It was less of a reflection on Chatterjee, and more the small-mindedness of the leadership of what was once a great party built by the likes of Jyoti Basu, Harkishan Singh Surjeet and Chatterjee himself.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi