Ex-Speaker Somnath Chatterjee 'stable but critical' after heart attack
Kolkata, Aug 12 : Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who was hospitalised in a critical condition last week, suffered a heart attack on Sunday morning, a hospital official said.
"Chatterjee suffered a heart attack at the hospital this morning. His condition is now stable but critical. He is undergoing dialysis," said Pradip Tondon, CEO of Bellevue Clinic.
The veteran Left leader has been put on ventilator support at the city nursing home since last Tuesday following a kidney-related ailment.
The 89-year-old was earlier admitted to the nursing home on June 25 after suffering a haemorrhagic stroke.
He underwent treatment for 40 days and was discharged just for three days after his health showed signs of improvement. However, he was re-admitted after his condition deteriorated last Tuesday, the officer said.
Chatterjee, regarded as an outstanding parliamentarian, served as the Lok Sabha Speaker from 2004 to 2009.
The 10-time Lok Sabha member was expelled from the Communist Party of India-Marxist on July 23, 2008, "for seriously compromising the position of the party" as he refused to resign as the Speaker after the CPI-M withdrew support to the first United Progressive Alliance government over the India-US civil nuclear deal.
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Bank unions firm on March 24-25 strike as talks with IBA fail
Kolkata, Mar 14 (PTI): The United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on Thursday said its two-day nationwide strike on March 24 and 25 will be observed as scheduled since discussions with the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) over key demands failed to yield any positive outcome.
In a meeting with the IBA, all UFBU constituents raised issues, including recruitment in all cadres and a five-day workweek. Still, the key issues remained unresolved, National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE) General Secretary L Chandrasekhar said.
The UFBU, an umbrella body of nine bank employees' associations, earlier announced the strike to press for these demands which included filling up the workmen and officer director posts in public sector banks.
The unions have also sought the withdrawal of recent directives from the Department of Financial Services (DFS) regarding performance reviews and performance-linked incentives, alleging that such measures threaten job security and create employees.
The UFBU has further opposed what it calls "micro-management" of public sector banks by the DFS, arguing that such interventions undermine the autonomy of bank boards.
Other demands include resolving residual issues with the IBA and amending the Gratuity Act to raise the ceiling to Rs 25 lakh, aligning it with the scheme for government employees and seeking exemption from income tax.
The UFBU comprises major bank unions, including the All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), All India Bank Officers’ Confederation (AIBOC), National Confederation of Bank Employees (NCBE), and All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA).
