Duties of A Speaker

The election of the full-time Lok Sabha Speaker is scheduled to be held soon. President has appointed seven-time MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as the ‘Speaker pro tem’ of the 18th Lok Sabha.

About Duties of A Speaker & Deputy Speaker

How Are The Speaker And Deputy Speaker Elected?

Article 93 of the Constitution:

• It states that the Lok Sabha shall choose two members to be its Speaker and Deputy Speaker. 
  • • The election of the Speaker is held on a date fixed by the President. 
    • All the Speakers in independent India have been elected unopposed. The election of the Deputy Speaker is held on a date fixed by the Speaker.
• Vacancy: 
  • The Speaker remains in office during the Lok Sabha’s life. 
  • However, he/she has to vacate his/ her office earlier in any of the following three cases:
    1. If he/ she ceases to be a member of the Lok Sabha
    2. If he/ she resigns by writing to the Deputy Speaker
    3. If he/she is removed by a resolution passed by a majority of the Lok Sabha members (Effective majority). Such a resolution can be moved only after giving 14 days’ advance notice.
       • Effective strength refers to the number of members present in the house. This is calculated by deducting the number of vacant and absent seats from the total strength of the house.
• When A Resolution For The Removal Of The Speaker Is Under Consideration Of The House
  • He/ she cannot preside at the sitting of the House, though he/ she may be present. 
  • He/she can speak and participate in the House proceedings at such a time and vote in the first instance, though not in the case of an equality of votes.
• Whenever The Lok Sabha Is Dissolved: The Speaker does not vacate his/her office and continues till the newly-elected Lok Sabha meets.

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Speaker Powers And Duties

• Primary responsibility: Maintains order and decorum in the House for conducting its business and regulating its proceedings. This is his and he has final power in this regard.
• Final interpreter of the provisions of 
  1. the Constitution of India
  2. the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha
  3. the parliamentary precedents within the House.
• Adjourns the House or suspends the meeting in the absence of a quorum
  • Quorum = One-tenth of the total strength of the House
• He decides whether a bill is a money bill or not 
  • Speaker’s decision on this question is final. 
• Don’t vote in the first instance. But can exercise a casting vote in the case of a tie. 
• Presides over a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament
  • A joint sitting is summoned by the President to settle a deadlock between the two Houses on a bill.
• Allow a ‘secret’ sitting of the House at the request of the Leader of the House.
• Decide the questions of disqualification of a member of the Lok Sabha arising on the grounds of defection under the provisions of the Tenth Schedule. 
• Acts as the ex-officio chairman of the Indian Parliamentary Group which is a link between the Parliament of India and the various parliaments of the world. 
• Appoints the chairman of all the parliamentary committees of the Lok Sabha and supervises their functioning. 
• Chairman of the Business Advisory Committee, the Rules Committee and the General Purpose Committee.

Concerns

• Misuse Of Provisions: Rules for suspending members have often been misused against the opposition. 
  • For example, Recently, the leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, was suspended for his remarks against the Prime Minister (which was later revoked), but no such action has been taken against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member, Ramesh Bidhuri, for passing communal allegations against the Bahujan Samaj Party Member of Parliament, Danish Ali. 
• On Non-Referring of Bills to Standing Committees: The Speaker has the authority to refer Bills introduced to the Parliamentary Standing Committees. However, even significant Bills that require detailed scrutiny are not referred to such committees. 
  • For example: As against more than 60% of Bills referred to committees in the Lok Sabha during 2004-14, less than 25% have been referred during 2014-2023.
• Role in Debates: The Speaker’s role in moderating debates and ensuring a fair opportunity for all members to speak and express their views has sometimes been questioned for alleged partiality in controlling the flow of discussions.

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• Circumvent On The Anti-Defection Law: The Speaker of the House is expected to perform this constitutional role in a neutral manner, however, by observing many past instances, it has been inferred that the Speakers favor the ruling regime.
• Party Affiliation: Speaker, who is usually a member of the ruling party, may exhibit bias towards their own party while conducting proceedings or making decisions in the house.

Way Forward

• Follow British Practice: Need to adopt the practices as in Britain to instill confidence in the office of the Speaker, who resigns from the associated political party to reflect his/her impartiality.

• Constitutional and Moral Practice: As the Presiding Officer of the Lok Sabha at the Centre and the Legislative Assembly in the States, the Speaker is required to act in an impartial manner. 
• An Independent Tribunal: Need for an independent tribunal for resolving questions on disqualification of members on the basis of defection. 
• Resolve the Structural issues:  Issues regarding the manner of appointment of the Speaker and his tenure in office needs an urgent redressal.

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