The Hindu Business Line : Somnath praised as 'upholder of Constitution'

NEW DELHI: Rarely on any of his birthdays has the Lok Sabha Speaker Mr Somnath Chatterjee received so many accolades for upholding the Constitution of the country, like he did today on his 80th birthday.

A deluge of people ranging from Parliamentarians to commoners trooped down at his Akbar Road residence to congratulate him for his “sacrifices” in party politics and for honouring the Constitution.

“He is an inspiration to all youth of the country. Only a person of his stature can lead by example to show how the Constitution is to be revered even at the face of petty party politics. We would like him to continue as the Speaker and our teacher,” sai d first-time MP on a Congress ticket, Mr Navin Jindal.

Another first timer, Mr Jitin Prasad, an MP from Shahjahanpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh, described the Speaker as “his leader” and not just any “party leader”.

“This is my first term as a member of the House and he has always encouraged young people like us in Parliament. His supportive nature has helped us greatly to carry out House proceedings. I conveyed him good wishes for his birthday and told him that his sacrifices has deeply moved me,” said Mr Prasad after meeting the Speaker.

Among the odd visitors outside his residence were also a group of Sikh holy men chanting their support for the Speaker and terming him “sachha nirankari” and a “sher dil” for having the courage to defy his party's diktat for the sake of upholding the cou ntry's constitution. - PTI

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