Presiding Officers and Leaders of Parliament: Roles and Responsibilities

Introduction

Each House of Parliament has its own presiding officer. The Lok Sabha has a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker, while the Rajya Sabha has a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman. Additionally, a panel of chairpersons is appointed for the Lok Sabha, and a panel of vice-chairpersons is appointed for the Rajya Sabha.

Speaker of the Lok Sabha(LS) (Article 93)

• Elected by the LS from amongst its members. Whenever the office of the Speaker falls vacant, the Lok Sabha elects another member to fill the vacancy.
• Date of Election: Fixed by the President.
• Remains in office during the life of the LS. However, he has to vacate his office earlier in any of the following three cases:
  • Ceases to be a member of the Lok Sabha; [UPSC 2018]
  • Resigns by writing to the Deputy Speaker; and
  • Removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Lok Sabha (i.e., an effective majority) (Art. 94).
    • Such a resolution can be moved only after giving 14 days’ advance notice.
    • This motion of removal can be considered and discussed only when it has the support of at least 50 members.
    • When the above resolution is under consideration of the House, he cannot preside at the sitting of the house. However, he can vote in the first instance not in case of equality of votes.
• If the LS is dissolved, the Speaker does not vacate his office and continues till the newly-elected Lok Sabha meets.

Powers and Duties

Derives his/her powers and duties from three sources, that is, the Constitution of India, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha, and Parliamentary Conventions.

• Guardian of powers and privileges of the members, the House as a whole and its committees.
• Maintains order and decorum in the House.
• Final Interpreter: Of the provisions of the Constitution of India, Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha and parliamentary precedents, within the House.
• Quorum: Adjourns the House or suspends the meeting in absence of a quorum. The quorum to constitute a meeting of the House is one-tenth of the total strength of the House.
• Casting Vote: Does not vote in the first instance but can exercise a casting vote in the case of a tie.
• Joint Sitting: He presides over a joint sitting (Art. 108) of the two Houses.
• Allow a ‘secret’ sitting of the House at the request of the Leader of the House.
• Certify Bills as Money Bills: Decides whether a bill is a money bill or not and his decision on this question is final. Endorses on the bill his certificate that it is a money bill.
• Jurisdiction Over Disqualification of Members: Decides the questions of disqualification of a member of the Lok Sabha, arising on the grounds of defection. Decision is subject to judicial review (Kihoto Hollohan case).
• Appoints the chairman of all the parliamentary committees of the Lok Sabha and supervises their function.
• Ex-officio Chairman:  Business Advisory Committee, the Rules Committee and General-Purpose Committee.
• Indian Parliamentary Group: Ex-officio chairman of the Indian Parliamentary Group which is a link between the Parliament of India and the various parliaments of the world. 
• Ex-officio chairman of the conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies in the country.

Independence and Impartiality

• Security of tenure.
• Salaries and allowances are fixed by Parliament. They are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.
• Work and conduct cannot be discussed and criticized in the LS except on a substantive motion.
• Powers of regulating procedure, conducting business or maintaining order in the House are not subject to the jurisdiction of any Court.
• Only exercise a casting vote
• Placed at seventh rank, along with the Chief Justice of India. 
• In Britain, the Speaker is strictly a nonparty man. This healthy convention is not fully established in India.

Chairperson of Rajya Sabha (RS) (Art. 89)

• Vice-president: The Vice-president is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• Presidential Duties: During any period when the Vice-President acts as President or discharges the functions of the President, he does not perform the duties of the office of the Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Also, he is not entitled to any salary or allowance payable to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. But he is paid the salary and allowance of the President during such a time.
• Unlike the Speaker, the Chairman is not a member of the House.
• Casting Vote: Like the Speaker, the chairperson of RS cannot vote in the first instance but can cast vote in case of equality of vote. i.e. Casting Vote.
• Salary and Allowance: fixed by parliament charged on consolidated fund of India.
• Removal (Art. 67): Only if he is removed from the office of the Vice-President. When such a resolution is under consideration, he can take part in proceedings as a normal member without the right to vote.
  • Cannot preside over a sitting of the Rajya Sabha as its Chairman when a resolution for his removal is under consideration.

Powers and Duties

• Similar to Speaker, except two special power which are mentioned as:
  • Speaker decides whether a bill is a money bill or not and his decision on this question is final.
  • The Speaker presides over a joint sitting (Art. 108) of two Houses of Parliament.

Secretariat of Parliament

• Each House of Parliament has separate secretarial staff of its own, though there can be some posts common to both the Houses.
• Their recruitment and service conditions are regulated by Parliament.
• The secretariat of each House is headed by a secretary- general. He is a permanent officer and is appointed by the presiding officer of the House.

Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

Leader of House and Leader of Opposition in Parliament

Leader of House

• In Loksabha: Under the Rules of Lok Sabha, the ‘Leader of the House’ means the prime minister, if he/she is a member of the Lok Sabha or a minister who is a member of the Lok Sabha and is nominated by the Prime Minister to function as the Leader of the House.
• In Rajyasabha: There is also a ‘Leader of the House‘ in the Rajya Sabha. He/she is a minister and a member of the Rajya Sabha and is nominated by the Prime Minister to function as such.
• Majority Leader: The Prime Minister can also nominate a deputy leader of the House. The same functionary in the USA is known as the ‘ majority leader’.

Leader of Opposition

• Mentioned in Rules of the House and Parliamentary Statute.
• For the first time Leader of Opposition recognised in 1969. [UPSC 2018]
• Statutory recognition in 1977, as it is mentioned in the Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977.
• Not less than 1/10 of the total seats are required for recognition as Leader of the opposition [UPSC 2018] (G V Mavalankar Rule: To be designated as a parliamentary party, a group must have at least 10% of the House’s strength. The leader of the largest such party in the opposition becomes the Leader of the Opposition.)
• Status of Minister: The leader of the Opposition is equivalent to a cabinet minister. 
  • Entitled to the salary, allowances and other facilities equivalent to that of a cabinet minister.
• Ivor Jennings called it “Alternative Prime Minister”.
• Minority Leader: The same functionary in the USA is known as the ‘ minority leader‘.

Conclusion

• Presiding officers of Parliament, such as the Speaker/Chairman, are responsible for maintaining order, impartiality, and procedural fairness during parliamentary proceedings. They ensure debates are conducted respectfully and by established rules, while also representing the institution’s dignity and authority.
• On the other hand, leaders of Parliament represent their respective parties/groups in parliamentary debates, negotiate with other parties on legislative matters, and often serve as key spokespersons for their party’s policies and positions. 
• Both presiding officers and parliamentary leaders are essential figures in the effective functioning of democratic legislative bodies.