Pro-tem Speaker Somnath Chatterjee was today administered oath as a member of the 14th Lok Sabha by President A P J Abdul Kalam. The 75 year old Marxist will make parliamentary history when he is elected Speaker on June 4, the first Communist to occupy the post.
As pro-tem Speaker Chatterjee will preside over the Lok Sabha proceedings of the first two days, when the newly-elected members take oath. During the Speaker's election -- now a formality, with the Opposition National Democratic Alliance agreeing to Chatterjee -- Congress MP Balasaheb Vikhe Patil will function as pro-tem Speaker.
Interestingly, Chatterjee's father, N C Chatterjee, was a president of the Hindu Mahasabha, but he joined the Communist Party of India-Marxist in 1968 and has since been a relentless advocate of his party's stand on a wide variety of issues.
Educated at Cambridge and a barrister-at-law from Middle Temple in Britain, Chatterjee, who was awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 1996, is known for his trenchant wit and forceful arguments.
With the Opposition and the ruling party ready to take on each other, he will need all his forceful oratory to keep discipline inside the House.
RB PHOTO