Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's remarks on the release of Shri Somnath Chatterjee's book 'Keeping the Faith'

I am very pleased to be here today on the special occasion of the launch of Shri Somnath Chatterjee's book - 'Keeping the Faith'. It was on another special occasion nearly sixty years ago that a young boy received a scroll from Shri N.C. Chatterjee, Somnath Babu's father, declaring him to be a proud graduate of Hindu College, Amritsar. I have always cherished that moment in my life as I have cherished my friendship and association with Shri Chatterjee over many years.

In February last year, Shri Somnath Chatterjee presided over the 14th Lok Sabha on its last day. I could not be there in person to join my colleagues in paying my respects to Shri Chatterjee on account of the surgery I had undergone. My senior colleague, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, read out my remarks. So you will permit me to say in person to Shri Chatterjee what was read out on that occasion.

I quote "In transacting business in this Parliament, you set yourself as a role model. We strained your patience and at times even your conscience. There were unusual times in which you had to take a call between defending parliamentary propriety and heeding the demands of the organisation that you had spent a lifetime building. On all such occasions your sagacity prevailed. You stood like a rock to defend our best parliamentary traditions, and in doing so have raised the bar for those to follow...." Unquote.

It may be that Shri Chatterjee's finest hour in his long and distinguished political career was as the Speaker of Lok Sabha. But one should not forget his many achievements and record of public service over the four decades that he spent in active politics on the national scene as a parliamentarian, party leader and voice of principle.

His book, 'Keeping the Faith', is a very important contribution to our political history as witnessed from one side of the political spectrum. I wish that more of our parliamentarians would similarly reflect on our association with the great events and personalities that have shaped modern India.

Shri Chatterjee and I had differing views on various issues and he refers to this in his book. But these differences in political ideology never came in the way of the close and fruitful personal association I have always had with him.

The fact that the heat of debate in Parliament is often matched by the warmth of personal relationships among leaders cutting across party lines is a real strength of Indian democracy. Many a time I have turned to Shri Chatterjee to benefit from his vast experience, political acumen and sage counsel.

The enormous diversity of interests and opinions that have to be accommodated in tackling the problems of our country makes governance a highly complicated and challenging task. If we are to rise above the natural orthodoxy of government functioning, then we should not shy away from a constructive debate of different points of view. If we are to think big - and we must think big about the future of our country- and if we are to think boldly about the challenges and opportunities before us, we cannot do so by ignoring contrary opinions. Certainly, the nation must have a way to resolve creative tensions in the development process and move ahead.

I would submit to this august gathering that the Indian State has shown the capacity and resilience to overcome trials and tribulations and even rise above them. We have withstood serious challenges on the economic and security front and even emerged stronger afterwards. The reason we are able to do so is, I believe, our vigorous and functioning democracy. The solutions to the problems we face are not beyond the creativity and imagination of our people.

One of the issues that faces the Indian polity is how to make the functioning of Parliament more effective and meaningful. The book explores some of these issues and also enumerates the many initiatives Shri Chatterjee took during his tenure as Speaker. There was a marked increase in inter-parliamentary contacts, the parliamentary committee system was strengthened, a Lok Sabha TV channel was started and greater transparency was introduced by enhancing the citizen's right to information.

Some days ago at a function in Parliament, I had said that ultimately it is the calibre of its Members that breathes life and vitality into Parliament. I read with interest the anecdotes Shri Chatterjee relates in his book about towering parliamentarians like Professor Hiren Mukherjee and Shri Jyotirmoy Basu. I hope that younger parliamentarians will be inspired by the oratory, character and conduct of these formidable personalities, which include the author and parliamentarian we honour today, Shri Somnath Chatterjee.

In conclusion, I wish to commend the book to readers to understand a man of extraordinary talent and integrity, who believes in keeping the faith in the fundamental values that have made our republic great, who is deeply committed to preserving the institutions of our republic and who has risen above his party and his ideology to do what he believes is right. May his tribe increase.