He fine-tuned democracy and helped safeguard secularism, federalism

In his long life, he played a stellar role i n fine-tuning democracy and always rose—be it i n Parliament or court rooms—to defend the democratic rights of the people.

He played this role with aplomb especially during the Emergency.

Today, when the situation is such that even without an Emergency being declared, there are rampant attacks on our democratic rights and muzzling of the press, Somnath da’s voice was most required. It is a sad moment that he left us on Monday and his voice will never be heard again.

As I speak about Somnath da, memories of him are flooding my mind. He played important roles in the formation of two governments in 1996 and 2004.

He also had a significant role in initiating the discussions over the formation of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at a time when all public opinions said that there is no alternative to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

During that time, it was Somnath Chatterjee who provided us confidence and support.

I always cherished the lavish manner in which he treated all his guests and friends. He had dietary restrictions and perhaps couldn’t fully enjoy the food he served others. His dinners and lunches were the only source of authentic Bengali cuisine for us. But his house in Ashoka Road was also the regular meeting point for different political leaders and many important decisions were taken there.