Editorials for 29-April-2025

by Vajiram & Ravi

29-04-2025

08:30 AM

The Post of Deputy Speaker is Not Symbolic or Optional Blog Image

Context

  • The Office of the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, enshrined within the Constitution of India, holds far more than ceremonial significance.
  • Mandated by Article 93, it is a constitutional imperative designed to ensure the seamless functioning of the lower House of Parliament.
  • However, a disturbing trend has emerged in recent years, the persistent vacancy of this vital office, posing serious questions about constitutional adherence and democratic resilience.

Constitutional Mandate and Historical Significance

  • Constitutional Mandate
    • Article 93 of the Indian Constitution unequivocally demands 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.
    • The language used, particularly the phrase as soon as may be, implies urgency and necessity, not discretion.
    • Furthermore, Article 94 reinforces the continuity of the Deputy Speaker’s office until resignation, removal, or disqualification.
    • Thus, the framers intended for no disruption in leadership, safeguarding the stability of parliamentary proceedings.
  • Historical Significance
    • The roots of this office extend back to colonial India, when it was known as the Deputy President of the Central Legislative Assembly.
    • Sachidanand Sinha’s appointment in 1921 marked the institutional beginning of this role.
    • Post-independence, the Constituent Assembly deliberately continued this office, recognising its indispensable contribution to parliamentary democracy.
    • Notably, M.A. Ayyangar’s seamless transition to Acting Speaker following Speaker G.V. Mavalankar’s sudden demise in 1956 demonstrated the practical necessity and importance of the Deputy Speaker as a ready and capable leader.

Role and Relevance in Parliamentary Functioning

  • While the Speaker is the primary presiding authority, no individual can personally oversee every minute of legislative business.
  • As constitutional expert S.C. Kashyap observed, the Speaker’s responsibilities are too vast to allow for continuous chairing of sessions.
  • The Deputy Speaker, therefore, plays an indispensable role in maintaining the continuity of legislative work.
  • Moreover, the Deputy Speaker’s responsibilities extend beyond substitution.
  • They preside over committees, oversee crucial debates, and serve as neutral arbiters during sensitive discussions.
  • Once elected, the Deputy Speaker, like the Speaker, is expected to act impartially, setting aside partisan loyalties to uphold parliamentary decorum.
  • An equally important convention has been the informal practice of offering the Deputy Speaker’s post to a member of the Opposition.
  • Although not legally mandated, this tradition has served to develop bipartisanship, moderation, and trust across the political aisle, values critical to the health of a parliamentary democracy.

A Growing Constitutional Vacuum

  • Despite the constitutional clarity and historical precedents, the office of the Deputy Speaker has remained vacant throughout the tenure of the 17th Lok Sabha (2019–2024) and, as of now, the newly constituted 18th Lok Sabha as well.
  • This is an unprecedented dereliction. Though the Constitution does not impose a strict timeline, interpreting "as soon as may be" to permit years-long delay is a distortion of constitutional intent.
  • The absence of a Deputy Speaker centralises procedural authority in the hands of the ruling establishment, disrupting the delicate institutional balance envisioned by the framers.
  • In events of sudden crises, such as the resignation, incapacitation, or death of the Speaker, the lack of a designated second-in-command could cause confusion and paralyze the House’s functioning.
  • Additionally, the failure to uphold the tradition of offering the office to the Opposition undermines the spirit of consensus-driven politics and erodes democratic goodwill.
  • It signals not mere oversight but an active sidelining of constitutional morality and parliamentary conventions.

The Way Forward: Towards Legislative Reform and Democratic Renewal

  • This prolonged vacancy invites the urgent question: should the Constitution be amended to introduce a strict deadline for the election of the Deputy Speaker?
  • For instance, mandating that the post be filled within 60 days of the first sitting of a new Lok Sabha could reinforce compliance and ensure continuity.
  • Alternatively, a statutory intervention could empower the President, upon advice from the Prime Minister or Speaker, to initiate the election process if the House fails to act within a stipulated time frame.
  • Either measure would close the dangerous loophole of indefinite delay that currently undermines institutional integrity.
  • Ultimately, the Office of the Deputy Speaker is neither symbolic nor dispensable.
  • It is a constitutional safeguard, a critical cog in the machinery of India’s parliamentary democracy.
  • Neglecting it not only violates the explicit provisions of the Constitution but also diminishes the spirit of democratic resilience that underpins the Indian Republic.

Conclusion

  • The election of a Deputy Speaker must no longer be treated as a procedural afterthought.
  • It is a litmus test of Parliament’s commitment to rule-based governance, institutional robustness, and constitutional fidelity.
  • At a time when democratic institutions globally are under stress, India’s Parliament must lead by example, by reaffirming its respect for constitutional norms and promptly restoring the dignity and functionality of the Office of the Deputy Speaker.
  • The Constitution demands it. Democracy deserves it. The nation awaits it.

Q1. What article of the Constitution mandates the Deputy Speaker’s role?
Ans. Article 93 of the Indian Constitution mandates that the Lok Sabha must elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker.

Q2. Who was the first elected Deputy Speaker of independent India?
Ans. The first elected Deputy Speaker of independent India was M.A. Ayyangar.

Q3. Why is the Deputy Speaker's post important?
Ans. The Deputy Speaker's post is important because it ensures continuity, balance, and impartial functioning of the Lok Sabha when the Speaker is unavailable.

Q4. Has the 17th Lok Sabha elected a Deputy Speaker?
Ans. No, the 17th Lok Sabha did not elect a Deputy Speaker throughout its entire term.

Q5. What tradition promotes bipartisanship in this role?
Ans. The tradition of offering the post of Deputy Speaker to a member of the Opposition promotes bipartisanship and trust in parliamentary functioning. 

Source:The Hindu


India’s Urban Future is At a Crossroads Blog Image

Context

  • As summer intensifies across India, cities are grappling with severe water shortages, surging electricity demand, and escalating temperatures.
  • Reports from metropolitan areas like Bengaluru and Hyderabad reveal a sharp increase in water tanker bookings and frequent power cuts driven by heightened air-conditioner usage.
  • These annual struggles highlight a pressing question: Are Indian cities prepared to withstand climate extremes and the pressures of rapid urbanisation?

The Complexities of Urban Growth and Limitations of Current Indices

  • The Complexities of Urban Growth
    • Urbanisation in India has brought economic opportunities, innovation, and growth.
    • However, it has also exacerbated pollution, congestion, and environmental degradation, disproportionately affecting the underprivileged.
    • According to the Sustainable Futures Collective’s report “Is India Ready for a Warming World?” (2025), Indian cities still have a long way to go in terms of long-term climate planning.
    • Repeated concerns raised in Parliament about the worsening urban heat island effect reinforce the stark realities on the ground.
    • As India aims to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG-11), building inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities by 2030, these issues demand immediate and sustained attention.
  • Limitations of Current Indices
    • While global frameworks for measuring SDG-11 progress exist, India lacks robust, city-level tools for effective tracking.
    • NITI Aayog’s SDG Urban Index evaluates 56 cities across 77 indicators, yet its assessment of SDG-11 is limited to just four parameters: Swachh Survekshan (sanitation survey), road accident deaths, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (housing scheme), and waste treatment coverage.
    • Meanwhile, the Ease of Living Index covers 111 cities but does not provide a comprehensive evaluation of SDG-11 dimensions.
    • International indices such as Mercer’s Quality of Living Index and the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Resilient Cities Index offer valuable insights but often fail to account for India’s unique urban realities.
    • This absence of a focused, context-sensitive SDG-11 index creates a significant policy-research gap, limiting policymakers' ability to identify which cities are truly safe, sustainable, and inclusive.

A New Approach to Measuring Urban Progress

  • To bridge this gap, researchers have developed four distinct indices focusing on the core pillars of SDG-11: safety, inclusivity, resilience, and sustainability.
  • Ten major cities, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Surat, were ranked using indicators drawn from United Nations urban frameworks.
  • Data sources included the Census 2011, Road Transport Yearbook, Indian Forest Survey, National Crime Records Bureau, Periodic Labour Force Survey, National Family Health Survey-5, Reserve Bank of India, India Meteorological Department, and the Ola Mobility Institute’s Ease of Moving Index 2022.
  • Employing the Shannon Entropy Weighting Technique from Multi-Criteria Decision-Making modelling, researchers assigned objective weights to the indicators, enhancing the reliability of the indices.
  • The findings reveal striking disparities:
    • Inclusivity: Ahmedabad ranked highest, while Jaipur performed the worst.
    • Safety: Bengaluru was found to be the safest city; Kolkata ranked the lowest.
    • Sustainability: Surat led, whereas Kolkata lagged.
    • Resilience: Chennai topped the resilience index; Jaipur ranked last.
  • Notably, cities that were deemed front-runners in NITI Aayog’s SDG-11 assessments performed poorly under this new, more rigorous evaluation.

Key Insights and Challenges

  • These variations spotlight urgent urban challenges:
    • Inclusivity gaps show deep-rooted disparities in economic and social access, underscoring the need for equitable urban development.
    • Safety rankings highlight inconsistent urban security and law enforcement across cities.
    • Sustainability outcomes point to uneven progress in waste management, environmental planning, and pollution control.
    • Resilience disparities reveal significant deficiencies in disaster preparedness and recovery strategies.
  • The Annual Survey of Indian City Systems 2023 by Janaagraha reinforces these concerns, reporting that only 16 cities have a dedicated “city sustainability plan” and only 17 have formal city resilience strategies.
  • Such deficits reveal the groundwork still needed for India to achieve meaningful progress toward SDG-11.

The Road Ahead

  • City-level Monitoring: Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) must adopt SDG-11 tracking frameworks, similar to the district-level mechanisms established by some states.
  • Leveraging Technology: Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) under the Smart Cities Mission should be utilised for real-time urban data collection to enhance planning and decision-making.
  • Addressing Urban Poverty: With one-third of urban residents living in poverty, the reliance on outdated Census 2011 data is inadequate. A Periodic Urban Poor Quality of Living Survey at the state level is urgently needed.
  • Localized Governance: Each city’s unique challenges must be addressed through localised, data-driven strategies rather than blanket national policies.

Conclusion

  • Building safe, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Indian cities demands urgent, coordinated action backed by robust data, inclusive governance, and strategic long-term planning.
  • Without addressing the multifaceted challenges outlined here, India risks falling short of its 2030 SDG-11 goals, with dire consequences for millions living in its rapidly growing urban centres.

Q1. What is SDG-11?
Ans. SDG-11 aims to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable by 2030.

Q2. Which Indian city ranked highest in inclusivity?
Ans. Ahmedabad ranked highest in inclusivity.

Q3. What method was used to weigh indicators in the new indices?
Ans. The Shannon Entropy Weighting technique was used.

Q4. Why is accurate urban data important for planning?
Ans. It helps design city-specific, equitable, and effective policies.


Q5. Which cities lack sustainability and resilience strategies?
Ans. Many, including Kolkata and Jaipur, have limited or no such plans. 

Source:The Hindu