Office of Deputy Speaker

26-08-2023

11:56 AM

1 min read

Mains GS-II: Governance

What’s in today’s article?

Why in News?
History of Deputy Speaker Post
Constitutional Provision w.r.t. Office of Deputy Speaker
Election & Term of Office of Deputy Speaker
Role/Power of Deputy Speaker
Is it mandatory to have a Deputy Speaker?
Position of the Union government on the current vacancy in the post of Deputy Speaker
News Summary

Why in News?

The Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre and five states — Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand — over the failure to elect a Deputy Speaker.

What is the history of Deputy Speaker post?

The institutions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker originated in India in 1921 under the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1919 (Montague-Chelmsford Reforms).
In 1921, the Frederick Whyte and Sachidanand Sinha were appointed by the Governor-General of India as the first Speaker and the first Deputy Speaker (respectively) of the central legislative assembly.
At that time, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker were called the President and Deputy President respectively and the same nomenclature continued till 1947.
G.V. Mavalankar and Ananthasayanam Ayyangar had the distinction of being the first Speaker and the first Deputy Speaker (respectively) of the Lok Sabha.

What are the Constitutional Provision w.r.t. Office of Deputy Speaker?

Article 93 of the Constitution says that the House of the People (Lok Sabha) shall choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
- The Article also says that when the office of Speaker/Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the House shall choose another member to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker.
Similarly for State Legislative Assembly, Article 178 contains the corresponding position for Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

Election & Term of Office of Deputy Speaker

Like the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker is also elected by the Lok Sabha itself from amongst its members.
He is elected after the election of the Speaker has taken place.
The date of election of the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker.
Like the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker remains in office usually during the life of the Lok Sabha. However, he may vacate his office earlier in any of the following three cases –
- if he ceases to be a member of the Lok Sabha;
- if he resigns by writing to the Speaker; and
if he is removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Lok Sabha. Such a resolution can be moved only after giving 14 days’ advance notice.

What is the Role/Power of Deputy Speaker?

The Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker’s office when it is vacant.
He also acts as the Speaker when the latter is absent from the sitting of the House. In both the cases, he assumes all the powers of the Speaker.
- It should be noted here that the Deputy Speaker is not subordinate to the Speaker. He is directly responsible to the House.
He also presides over the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament, in case the Speaker is absent from such a sitting.
The Deputy Speaker has one special privilege, that is, whenever he is appointed as a member of a parliamentary committee, he automatically becomes its chairman.
When the Speaker presides over the House, the Deputy Speaker is like any other ordinary member of the House.
He can speak in the House, participate in its proceedings and vote on any question before the House.

Is it mandatory to have a Deputy Speaker?

Constitutional experts point out that both Articles 93 and 178 use the word “shall”, indicating that the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker is mandatory under the Constitution.
In general, the practice in both Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies has been to elect the Speaker during the first session of the new House — usually on the third day after the oath-taking and affirmations over the first two days.
The election of the Deputy Speaker usually takes place in the second session — and is generally not delayed further in the absence of genuine and unavoidable constraints.
Rule 8 of The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha says the election of Deputy Speaker “shall be held on such date as the Speaker may fix”.
The Deputy Speaker is elected once a motion proposing his name is carried in the House.

Position of the Union government on the current vacancy in the post of Deputy Speaker

The Treasury benches have maintained there is no “immediate requirement” for a Deputy Speaker as “bills are being passed and discussions are being held” as normal in the House.
A Minister argued that “there is a panel of nine members — senior, experienced, and selected from different parties — who can act as chairpersons to assist the Speaker to run the House”.
- Under the Rules of Lok Sabha, the Speaker nominates from amongst the members a panel of not more than ten chairpersons.
Any of them can preside over the House in the absence of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker.

News Summary

The Supreme Court issued notice to the Union government and five state governments in a PIL which highlighted that the elections for Deputy Speakers for Lok Sabha and for State Legislatures of five states had not yet taken place.
The PIL said that as per Article 93 and Article 178 of the Constitution, it was mandatory for state legislatures to conduct elections for the post of Deputy Speakers.
The Court has sought responses from the Union and the States mentioned in the petition.
The five states are Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand.

Q1) What is the role of Pro-tem Speaker?

Pro-tem speaker is the temporary speaker who presides over the first meeting of lower House of Parliament after the general elections besides presiding over the sitting in which the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are elected if it is a newly constituted House.

Q2) Who served as the first Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha?

M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar served as the First Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Source: The missing Deputy Speaker: the post, and what the Constitution says