Former Bengal speaker H.A. Halim dead

Kolkata: Former West Bengal assembly speaker Hashim Abdul Halim passed away on Monday, family sources said.

He was suffering from old-age-related illness, the sources added.

Halim, 80, who presided over the assembly for a record 29 years from 1982 to 2011, was rushed to a city nursing home in the morning following respiratory problems.

"He was declared dead around 10 a.m.," said a family member.

Halim, a noted lawyer, served as the state's law and justice minister from 1977 to 1982, and was a prominent leader of the Communist Party of India-Marxist.