Knowledge Nugget: Lok Sabha deputy speaker — What you must know for UPSC Exam

Indian Express

a day ago

Take a look at the essential events, concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here's your knowledge nugget for today on Lok Sabha deputy speaker.
(Relevance: The topic of Speaker and Deputy Speaker is highly relevant for the UPSC exam. Previously, various questions have been asked on these topics. For instance, in this year's prelims, a question was asked on the office of Speaker. Thus, it becomes essential to be aware of these constitutional offices, especially when they are in the news.)
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday (June 10) urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urgently initiate the process of electing a deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha, underlining the ongoing delay in the matter despite constitutional provisions for it. In a letter to PM Modi, Kharge pointed out that each Lok Sabha, from the first to the sixteenth, had seen the appointment of a deputy speaker in both Houses of Parliament, adding that it had also been a 'well-established convention' to appoint the person from among the members of the principal Opposition party.
'However, for the first time in independent India's history, this position has remained vacant for two consecutive Lok Sabha terms. No Deputy Speaker was elected during the Seventeenth Lok Sabha, and this concerning precedent continues in the ongoing Eighteenth Lok Sabha,' Kharge pointed out. In this context, let's know about the post of the deputy speaker of Lok Sabha.
1. Article 93 of the Constitution of India states that 'The House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker'.
2. The Constitution does not specify a time frame for making the appointments. It is this gap in the provision that allows governments to delay or avoid appointing a Deputy Speaker.
However, constitutional experts have pointed out that both Article 93 and Article 178 use the words 'shall' and 'as soon as may be' – indicating that not only is the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker mandatory, it must be held at the earliest.
3. According to Article 95(1), the Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker if the post is vacant. The Deputy Speaker has the same general powers as the Speaker when presiding over the House. All references to the 'Speaker' in the Rules are deemed to be references to the Deputy Speaker as well for the times when he or she presides.
P.D.T. Achary wrote in the opinion piece for The Indian Express, 'The history of the office of Deputy Speaker goes back to the Government of India Act of 1919, when he was called Deputy President, as the Speaker was known as the president of the Central Legislative Assembly. Although the main functions of a Deputy Speaker were to preside over the sittings of the assembly in the absence of the Speaker and chair the select committees, etc., the position was considered necessary to share the responsibility of running the House with the Speaker and guide the nascent committees.'
1. The Deputy Speaker is elected from among the Lok Sabha members by a simple majority of members present and voting.
2. The election of the Deputy Speaker usually takes place in the second session, even though there is no bar on having this election in the first session of the new Lok Sabha or Assembly. But the election of Deputy Speaker is generally not delayed beyond the second session unless there are some genuine and unavoidable constraints.
3. In the Lok Sabha, the election of Deputy Speaker is governed by Rule 8 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. According to Rule 8, the election 'shall be held on such date as the Speaker may fix'. The Deputy Speaker is elected once a motion proposing his or her name is carried. Once elected, the Deputy Speaker usually continues in office until the dissolution of the House.
4. Under Article 94 the Speaker or Deputy Speaker 'shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the House of the People'. They may also resign (to each other), or 'may be removed from office by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a majority of all the then members of the House'.
As per Rule 9 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, 'at the commencement of the House or from time to time, as the case may be, the Speaker shall nominate from amongst the members a panel of not more than ten Chairpersons, anyone of whom may preside over the House in the absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker when so requested by the Speaker or, in the absence of the Speaker, by the Deputy Speaker.'
1. Article 178 contains the corresponding provision for the Speakers and Deputy Speakers in the state Assemblies. It says, 'Every Legislative Assembly of a State shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the Assembly to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof, and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the Assembly shall choose another member to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker, as the case may be.'
2. Article 179 talks about the 'Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the offices of Speaker and Deputy Speaker ' in state legislative assembly. It says, the Speaker or Deputy Speaker 'shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the House of the People'. They may also resign (to each other), or 'may be removed from office by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a majority of all the then members of the House'.
1. The Deputy Chairman is a constitutional position created under Article 89 of the Constitution, which specifies that Rajya Sabha shall choose one of its MPs to be the Deputy Chairman as often as the position becomes vacant. The office becomes vacant either by resignation or removal from office or when the Rajya Sabha member's term gets over.
2. The Deputy Chairman is the one position that is elected solely by members of Rajya Sabha. It is a critical position not just because s/he steps in when there is a vacancy in the office of Chairperson/Vice President but also because s/he plays a critical role in ensuring the smooth running of the House.
Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2018)
1. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly shall vacate his/her office if he/she ceases to be a member of the Assembly.
2. Whenever the Legislative Assembly is dissolved, the Speaker shall vacate his/her office immediately.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
(Sources: 'Concerning precedent continues': Kharge urges PM Modi to begin process to elect Lok Sabha deputy speaker, Decode Politics: What is the Deputy Speaker's role and how often has it been an Opposition MP?,
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Roshni Yadav is a Deputy Copy Editor with The Indian Express. She is an alumna of the University of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University, where she pursued her graduation and post-graduation in Political Science. She has over five years of work experience in ed-tech and media. At The Indian Express, she writes for the UPSC section. Her interests lie in national and international affairs, governance, economy, and social issues. You can contact her via email: [e-mail] ... Read More