POWER AND FUNCTIONS OF LOK SABHA SPEAKER

A Project submitted for the subject Indian Polity, 1st SEMESTER

during the Academic Year 2018-2019

SUBMITTED BY:

SANDEEP SINGH BHANDARI

Roll No. - 1968

B.A LL.B

SUBMITTED TO:

Prof. Dr. S P SINGH

FACULTY OF INDIAN POLITY

OCTOBER, 2018

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, NAYAYA NAGAR, MITHAPUR,

PATNA-800001

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 DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

I hereby declare that the work reported in the B.A. LL.B (Hons.) Project Report
Entitled “POWER AND FUNCTIONS OF LOK SABHA SPEAKER” submitted
at Chanakya National Law University, Patna is an authentic record of my work
carried out under the supervision of Prof. Dr. S P SINGH.
I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma. I am
fully responsible for the contents of my Project report.

(Signature of the Candidate)

SANDEEP SINGH BHANDARI
Chanakya National Law University, Patna

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Firstly, I would like to thank my faculty of INDIAN POLITY Prof. Dr. S P Singh
for providing me an opportunity to make my project on such an interesting
topic.
Secondly, I would like to thank all my colleagues and friends for helping me out
in arranging of the accumulated collected study material.
Lastly, special thanks to my parents for guiding me in giving the final touch to
this project and helping me out throughout this project.

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 Contents
Introduction…………………………………………………… 5
Composition…………………………………………………... 5
President Of India…………………………………………….. 5
Rajya Sabha…………………………………………………... 6
Lok Sabha…………………………………………………….. 7
Functions Of Parliament……………………………………… 8
Lok Sabha Speaker…………………………………………… 12
Position of Speaker…………………………………………… 15
Objectivity of Speaker………………………………………... 16
List of Lok Sabha Speakers……………………………………21
Conclusion……………………………………………………. 23

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 INTRODUCTION

The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India.
The Parliament is composed of the President of India and the houses. It is a
bicameral legislature with two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and
the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The President in his role as head of
legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament
or to dissolve Lok Sabha. The president can exercise these powers only upon
the advice of the Prime Minister and his Union Council of Ministers.

Those elected or nominated (by the President) to either house of Parliament are
referred to as members of parliament (MP). The Members of Parliament, Lok
Sabha are directly elected by the Indian public voting in Single-member
districts and the Members of Parliament, Rajya Sabha are elected by the
members of all State Legislative Assembly by proportional representation. The
Parliament has a sanctioned strength of 545 in Lok Sabha including the 2
nominees from the Anglo-Indian Community by the President, and 245 in Rajya
Sabha including the 12 nominees from the expertise of different fields of
science, culture, art and history. The Parliament meets at Sansad Bhavan in
New Delhi.

 Composition

The Indian Parliament consists of two houses called the Lok Sabha and the
Rajya Sabha with the President of India acting as their head.

 President of India

The President of India, the Head of state is a component of Parliament. Under

Article 60 and Article 111, President's responsibility is to scrutinise that
bills/laws passed by the parliament are in accordance with constitutional
mandate and stipulated procedure is followed before according his/her approval
to the bills. The President of India is elected by the elected members of
Parliament of India and the state legislatures and serves for a term of 5 years.

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  Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha (Council of States) or the upper house is a permanent body not
subject to dissolution. One third of the members retires every second year, and
are replaced by newly elected members. Each member is elected for a term of
six years. Its members are indirectly elected by members of legislative bodies of
the states. The Rajya Sabha can have a maximum of 250 members. It currently
has a sanctioned strength of 245 members, of which 233 are elected from States
and Union Territories and 12 are nominated by the President. The number of
members from a state depends on its population. The minimum age for a person
to become a member of Rajya Sabha is 30 years.

o Qualifications
The qualifications for becoming a Rajya Sabha member are as follows:
1. He/she should be a citizen of India and at least 30 years of age.
2. He/she should make an oath or affirmation stating that he will bear true faith
and allegiance to the Constitution of India.
3. Thus according to the Representation of People Act 1951, he/she should be
registered as a voter in the State from which he is seeking election to the Rajya
Sabha. But in 2003, two provisions have been made regarding the elections to
Rajya Sabha- (i) Any Indian citizen can contest the Rajya Sabha elections
irrespective of the State in which he resides;
(ii) Elections are to be conducted through open voting system.

o Tenure

Every member of Rajya Sabha enjoys a safe tenure of six years. One-third of its
members retire after every two years. They are entitled to contest again for the
membership. But a member elected against a mid-term vacancy serves the
remaining period only. This system of election ensures continuity in the
working of Rajya Sabha.

o Officials of Rajya Sabha

The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

He/she presides over the meetings of Rajya Sabha. In his absence the Deputy
Chairman, who is elected by its members from amongst themselves, presides

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over the meeting of the House. The Deputy Chairman can be removed by a
majority of all the then members of Rajya Sabha. But the Chairman (V
ice-President) can only be removed from his office by a resolution passed by a
majority of all the then members of Rajya Sabha and agreed to by the Lok
Sabha.
As the Vice-President is an ex-officio Chairman and not a member of Rajya
Sabha, he/she is normally not entitled to vote. He/she can vote only in case of a
tie.
Tie means a situation in which there are equal vote cast in favour and against a
bill or resolution. In such a situation the presiding officer may exercise a casting
vote in favour/against to break the tie.

 Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha (House of the People) or the lower house has 545 members. 543
members are directly elected by citizens of India on the basis of universal adult
franchise representing Parliamentary constituencies across the country and 2
members are appointed by the President of India from Anglo-Indian
Community. Every citizen of India who is over 18 years of age, irrespective of
gender, caste, religion or race, who is otherwise not disqualified, is eligible to
vote for the Lok Sabha. The Constitution provides that the maximum strength of
the House be 552 members. It has a term of five years. To be eligible for
membership in the Lok Sabha, a person must be a citizen of India and must be
25 years of age or older, mentally sound, should not be bankrupt and should not
be criminally convicted. The total elective membership is distributed among the
States in such a way that the ratio between the number of seats allotted to each
State and the population of the State is, so far as practicable, the same for all
States.

o Qualifications
All the citizens of 18 years of age and above are entitled to vote in the elections
to Lok Sabha subject to the laws made by the Parliament. Any Indian citizen
can become a member of Lok Sabha provided he/she fulfils the following
qualifications:

1. He/she should be not less than 25 years of age.

2. He/she should declare through an oath or affirmation that he has true

faith and allegiance in the Constitution and that he will uphold the sovereignty
and integrity of India.

3. He/she must possess such other qualifications as may be laid down by the
Parliament by law. He must be registered as a voter in any constituency in India.
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4. Person contesting from the reserved seat should belong to the Scheduled
Caste or Scheduled Tribe as the case may be.

o Tenure
The normal term of Lok Sabha is five years. But the President, on the advice of
Council of Ministers, may dissolve it before the expiry of five years. In the case
of national emergency, its term can be extended for one year at a time. But it
will not exceed six months after the emergency is over. On several occasions
Lok Sabha was dissolved prior to the end of its term. For example the 12th Lok
Sabha elected in 1998 was dissolved in 1999.

o Officials of the Lok Sabha

The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker:

The presiding officer of Lok Sabha is known as Speaker. The members of the
House elect him. He/she remains the Speaker even after Lok Sabha is
dissolved till the next House elects a new Speaker in his place. In her
absence, a Deputy Speaker who is also elected by the House presides over the
meetings. Both the Speaker as well as the Deputy Speaker can be removed from
office by a resolution of Lok Sabha passed by a majority of all the then
members of the House.

 Functions of Parliament
The functions and powers of the Indian Parliament can be divided into
legislative, executive, financial and other categories.

o Legislative Functions
Basically the Parliament is a law-making body. In an earlier lesson you have
seen that there is a division of power between the Centre (Union) and the States.
There are three lists – Union List, State List and the Concurrent List. Only
Parliament can make laws on the subjects mentioned in the Union List. You
know that the Union List has 97 subjects. Along with the State Legislatures,
the Parliament is empowered to make laws on the Concurrent List. In case,
both the Centre as well as the States makes a law on the subject mentioned in
the Concurrent List then the central law prevails upon the state law if there is a

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clash between the two. Any subject not mentioned in any list i.e. residuary
powers are vested with the Parliament. Thus the law making power of the
Parliament is very wide. It covers the Union List and Concurrent List and in
certain circumstances even the State List also.

o The Executive Functions

In a parliamentary system of government there is a close relationship between
the legislature and the executive. And the executive is responsible to the
legislature for all its acts. The Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers are
responsible to the Parliament individually as well as collectively. The
Parliament can dislodge a ministry by passing a vote of no-confidence or by
refusing to endorse a confidence motion. In India this has happened several
times. This happened in 1999 when the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government lost
the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha by just one vote and resigned. But the
no-confidence motion or the confidence motions are the extreme ways of
maintaining the accountability of the Parliament over the executive. They are
employed in exceptional cases. Parliament also maintains its control over
executive in a routine manner through several ways. Some of them are as
follows:-

a. The members of Parliament can ask questions and supplementary

questions regarding any matters connected with the affairs of the Central
Government. The first hour of every working day of Parliament relates to
the Question Hour in which the Ministers have to answer the questions
raised by the members.
b. If the members are not satisfied with the Government’s answer then they
may demand separate discussion on the subject.
c. The Parliament also exercises control over the executive through several
motions. For example calling attention notice or adjournment motion are
such ways by which some recent matters of urgent public importance are
raised. The government always takes these motions very seriously
because the government’s policies are criticized severely and their likely
impact on the electorate whom the government would have to face
ultimately. If the motion is passed then it means that the government is
censured.
Censure Motion: This motion implies severe indictment of the
government; but it does not require resignation of the Council of
Members.
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 d. The Lok Sabha can express its lack of confidence in the executive by
disapproving budget or money bill or even an ordinary bill.
o The Financial Functions
The Parliament performs important financial functions. It is the custodian of the
public money. It controls the entire purse of the Central Government. No money
can be spent without its approval. This approval may be taken before the actual
spending or in rare cases after the spending. The budget is approved by the
Parliament every year.

o The Electoral Functions

The elected Member of Parliament one members of the Electoral College for
Presidential election. As such, they participate in the election of the President of
India. They elect the Vice-President. The Lok Sabha elects its Speaker and
Deputy Speaker and the Rajya Sabha elects its Deputy Chairman.

o Power of Removal
Certain high functionaries may be removed from office on the initiative of the
Parliament. The President of India may be removed through the process of
impeachment. The judges of Supreme Court and of High Courts can be
removed by an order of the President, which may be issued only if a resolution
of their removal is passed by both Houses of Parliament by special majority.

o Functions Regarding the Amendment of the

Constitution
Most of the parts of the Constitution can be amended by the Parliament by
special majority. But certain provisions only can be amended by the Parliament
with the approval of States. However India being a federal State, the
amending power of the Parliament is highly limited. The Supreme Court has
ruled that the Parliament cannot change the basic structure of the Constitution.

o Miscellaneous Functions
Besides the above-mentioned functions, the Parliaments also perform a variety
of other functions. Some of them are as follows: -

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a. While it is the power of the President to declare Emergency, the
Parliament approves all such Proclamations of Emergency. Both the Lok
Sabha and Rajya Sabha have to approve the Proclamation.
b. Parliament may form a new State by separating the territory from any
State or by uniting two or more States. It may also change the boundaries
and the name of any State. In the recent years (2000), new states of
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand were created.
c. The Parliament can abolish or create Legislative Councils in the States.
This is done only on the request of concerned States Assemblies. Thus
the Indian Parliament, though limited by the federal nature of the political
system, has wide functions to perform. In performing its functions, it has
to mirror the aspirations and needs of the people of India. It also has to
function as an agency for resolving socio-economic or political conflicts
in the country. It also helps in building consensus on specific issues,
which are crucial to the nation like foreign policy formulation.

 Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha – A Comparative Study

You have seen earlier that the two Houses of Parliament differ in their
composition. From the federal point of view the Rajya Sabha represents the
States in the Indian Union while the Lok Sabha is the representative of the
Indian people. This is also the reason why the method of election differs.
The members of Legislative Assemblies of the States elect the members of
Rajya Sabha while the people directly participate in the elections to the Lok
Sabha. Rajya Sabha is a permanent House while the Lok Sabha is constituted
for a specified term of five years. From the constitutional point of view, the
relationship between the two Houses can best be studied from three angles
which are as follows: -

1. There are certain powers and functions in which Lok Sabha is superior to
the Rajya Sabha. Introduction and adoption of money bills and removal
of a cabinet by passing no confidence motion are two examples relevant
here.
2. In certain areas Rajya Sabha has been vested with exclusive
powers. It does not share these powers with the Lok Sabha. For
example, it can declare a subject in state as a matter of national
importance and facilitate a central legislation.

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 3. In several areas, both the Houses enjoy equal powers. The examples are
adoption of bills other than money bills, approval of proclamation of
emergency, moving of adjournment and other types of motions.
Members of both houses of Parliament get Rs. 2 Crore per annum from
the Members of Parliament Local Development Fund. This fund is not
directly allotted to the MP but to the respective district headquarters and
the MP can use it for development projects in his area.

LOK SABHA SPEAKER

The office of the Speaker occupies a pivotal position in our parliamentary
democracy. The Speaker is looked upon as the true guardian of the traditions of
parliamentary democracy. The speaker is placed very high in the Warrant of
Precedence in our country, standing next only to the 1/5 President, the Vice
President and the Prime Minister.

In India, through the Constitution of the land, through the Rules of Procedure
and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha and through the practices and
conventions, adequate powers are vested in the office of the Speaker to help her
in the smooth conduct of the parliamentary proceedings and for protecting the
independence and impartiality of the office. The Constitution of India provides
that the Speaker’s salary and allowances are not to be voted by Parliament and
are to be charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.

o Term of Office:
The Speaker holds office from the date of her election till immediately before
the first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the dissolution of the one to which she
was elected. The Speaker is eligible for re-election. On the dissolution of the
Lok Sabha, although the Speaker ceases to be a member of the House, she does
not vacate her office. The Speaker may, at any time, resign from office by
writing under her hand to the Deputy Speaker. The Speaker can be removed
from office only on a resolution of the House passed by a majority of all the
then members of the House. It is also mandatory to give a minimum of 14 days’
notice of the intention to move the resolution.

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 o Election of Speaker:
In the Lok Sabha, the lower House of the Indian Parliament, both Presiding
Officers—the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are elected from among its
members by a simple majority of members present and voting in the House. As
such, no specific qualifications are prescribed for being elected the Speaker.
The Constitution only requires that Speaker should be a member of the House.
But an understanding of the Constitution and the laws of the country and the
rules of procedure and conventions of Parliament is considered a major asset for
the holder of the office of the Speaker. Usually, a member belonging to the
ruling party is elected the Speaker. A healthy convention, however, has evolved
over the years whereby the ruling party nominates its candidate after informal
consultations with the Leaders of other Parties and Groups in the House. There
are also instances when members not belonging to the ruling party or coalition
were elected to the office of the Speaker. Once a decision on the candidate is
taken, her name is normally proposed by the Prime Minister or the Minister of
Parliamentary Affairs. If more than one notice is received, these are entered in
the order of receipt. The Speaker pro term presides over the sitting in which the
Speaker is elected, if it is a newly constituted House. If the election falls later in
the life of a Lok Sabha the Deputy Speaker presides. After the results are
announced, the Speaker-elect is conducted to the Chair by the Prime Minister
and the Leader of the Opposition.

o REMOVAL OF LOK SABHA SPEAKER

The Lok Sabha is presided over by the Speaker who is elected by the House
from among its own members as soon as may be, after its first sitting. Besides a
Deputy Speaker is also elected (Article 93). The Speaker or Deputy Speaker
normally holds office during the life of the House but his office is liable to be
terminated earlier when:

(a) He ceases to be a member of the House,

(b) When he resigns in writing addressed to the Deputy Speaker and vice versa
or

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(c) When he is removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the members
of the House (Article 94).

However fourteen days’ notice must be given for passing such a resolution.
When a resolution for his removal is under consideration, the Speaker shall not
preside. However he will have the right to speak and participate in the
proceedings of the House. He will not have the right to vote except in the case
of equality of votes (Article 96). When the House is dissolved, the Speaker is
not to vacate his office, until immediately before the first meeting of the House.

 Functions of Speaker:
Regulating the Business of the House:

The final authority for adopting rules for regulating is procedure rests with each
House, but a perusal of the rules of the Indian Parliament would indicate that
the Presiding Officer in the two Houses are given 2/5 vast powers by the rules.
It is the Presiding Officer who decides the admissibility of a Question With
regard to moving amendments to a Bill, the permission of the Chair is required.
If a Bill is pending before the House, it is the Speaker who decides whether she
should allow amendments to be moved to various clauses of the Bill or not. As
regards regulating discussions in the House, it is the Speaker who decides as to
when a member shall speak and how long she shall speak. A member who
flouts her orders or directions may be named by the Speaker and in such cases;
she may have to withdraw from the House. The Speaker is the guardian of the
rights and privileges of the House, its Committees and members. It depends
solely on the Speaker to refer any question of privilege to the Committee of
Privileges for examination, investigation and report. It is through speaker that
the decisions of the House are communicated to outside individuals and
authorities. It is the Speaker who decides the form and manner in which the
proceedings of the House is published. The Speaker also issues warrants to
execute the orders of the House, wherever necessary, and delivers reprimands
on behalf of the House. The entire Parliamentary Estate is under the authority of
the Speaker. When a decision of the House is to be ascertained on a motion
made by a member, the question is put by the Speaker before the House to
obtain the decision. The Speaker also has certain residuary powers under the
Rules of Procedure. All matters which are not specifically provided under the

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rules and all questions relating to the working of the rules are regulated by her.
On matters regarding interpretation of constitutional provisions relating to the
House or the Rules of Procedure, she often gives rulings which are respected by
members and are binding in nature. Under the Constitution, the Speaker enjoys
a special position insofar as certain matters pertaining to the relations between
the two Houses of Parliament are concerned. She certifies Money Bills and
decides finally what are money matters by reason of the Lok Sabha’s overriding
powers in financial matters. It is the Speaker of the Lok Sabha who presides
over joint sittings called in the event of disagreement between the two Houses
on a legislative measure. As regards recognition of parliamentary parties it is
the Speaker who lays down the necessary guidelines for such recognition. It is
she who decides on granting recognition to the Leader of the Opposition in the
Lok Sabha. Following the 52ndConstitution amendment, the Speaker is vested
with the power relating to the disqualification of a member of the Lok Sabha on
grounds of defection. The Speaker makes obituary references in the House,
formal references to important national and international events and the
valedictory address at the conclusion of every Session of the Lok Sabha and
also when the term of the House expires.

 Position of the Speaker:

The office of the Speaker has been held in great esteem since the dawn of
independent era in India. The esteem, which the office of the Speaker
commands, is reflected in the observation of our Prime Minister on the occasion
of the unveiling of the portrait of the late V.J. Patel on March 8, 1948 in the
Constituent Assembly of India. He said, “Now, Sir, on behalf of the
government, may I say that we would like the distinguished occupant of the
chair now and always to guard the freedom and liberties of the House from
every possible danger, even from the danger or executive intrusion.

There is always a danger…from a majority that it may choose to ride rough

shod over the opinions of a minority, and it is then, that the Speaker comes in to
protect each single member or each single group from any such unjust activity
by a dominant group or a dominant government.

The Speaker represents the House. He represents the dignity of the House, the
freedom of the House and because the House represents the nation in a

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particular way, the Speaker becomes the symbol of the nation’s freedom and
liberty. Therefore it is right that that should be an honoured position, a free
position and should be occupied always by men of outstanding ability and
impartiality.”

Reacting to the Chief Justice of India’s comment that the Supreme Court is
supreme as it has the final say S.N. Chatterjee remarked, “The CGI is absolutely
right. The Supreme Court is supreme until the Parliament changes the law by
which the decision is changed…Has the constitution contemplated it as a super
organ. There is no super organ.” It clearly reflects that the then Speaker
maintained the dignity of the House.

 Objectivity of Speaker:
Within 61 years of speaker’s existence, conventions of abiding nature have been
established. The detachment and objectivity exhibited by the speaker enabled
him to become a symbol of the dignity and independence of the House as well
as the guardian of the rights and privileges of its members. Only once his
impartiality was challenged when a motion of no confidence was moved against
the Speaker (Mr Mavlankar) on December 18, 1954 by the opposition on the
ground that he had ceased to maintain an impartial attitude necessary to
command the confidence of all the sections of the House.

The motion was, however, rejected. The occasional aspersions of partiality are
cast on the Speaker by the members of opposition time and again perhaps
because Indian speaker remains a party man outside the House.

In fact, our leaders were keen to follow British practice. According to the
British tradition, the speaker is returned uncontested at the General Elections.
Moreover, they respect objectivity and the impartiality of the chair to such an
extent as the Speaker of a previous Parliament is continued in his office by a
succeeding Parliament even though another party comes in power.

This is on account of the fact that the British speaker gets a sentence of exile
from politics when he occupies this august office. Both in the House as well as
outside it, he does not retain party affiliations. The position of Indian speaker is
however different. The Speaker of Indian Lok Sabha is neutral in politics in the
House but he does not cease to be a party man outside the House.

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India’s first Speaker G.V. Mavlankar’s statement makes this point crystal clear.
“Though it is conceded that the Speaker in India should stand apart from party
strife, it is maintained that he should not keep himself entirely aloof from
politics as the British Speaker does. Many of the Speakers have been active
politicians. Hence, it will not be possible for the Speakers to withdraw
themselves entirely from all political life. As such, the Indian Speaker continues
to be member of his party. He should not attend party meetings or actively
participate publicly in controversial matters that are likely to come up for
discussion before the House.

As far as possible, he should keep his mind open without being soaked with the
view of the party or the important members thereof…It is necessary that while
presiding in the House, his view should not come in for discussion as to force
him either to sit silent and allow a misunderstanding grow or to enter into
discussion and take sides. We feel, however, that in the course of time, we shall
be able to evolve from this a sound convention on the line of the British
Speaker.”

Keeping in view the fact that the speaker will not lose his party colour on his
getting elected as a Speaker, it is but natural that he cannot get elected
unopposed. Mavlankar the first speaker of the Lok Sabha after implementation
of the constitution made this point also very clear when he said, “With the
present state of political consciousness of public, life in India, it is too much to
expect that people with different ideologies will all respect the convention of
not contesting the election of the Speaker and it is this aspect which very
seriously affects the adoption in Toto of all British conventions in respect of the
office of the speaker.” However he held “The Speaker belongs to all the
members or belongs to none.”

Mr Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, the former Speaker of Lok Sabha, in his

inaugural address at the conference of the presiding officers of legislative
bodies held at Madras, however, exhorted the members to follow the British
convention of electing the Speaker unopposed. “I hope that ere long a
convention may be established that the Speaker’s seat ought to be left
uncontested. Sometimes or other, that convention has to be started. It may be a
personal note but whether it is personal or otherwise in the interest of the
opposition parties themselves, I would urge upon the development of this
convention. In practice, I have found that it is the opposition that suffers by
throwing the speaker into the hands of the majority party”.
17
From the above observations of two first incumbents of this office, it can be
safely concluded that the Indian speaker may not be partisan in the conduct of
proceedings in the House but still remains a party man and is the choice of his
party. As such, the chair in our country cannot attain that prestige which hovers
round its prototype in England. Motion of no-confidence against the speaker on
December 18, 1954 bears ample testimony to this fact. Impartiality is the sine
qua non of the office of the speaker.

E. May is of the view, “Confidence in the impartiality of the Speaker is an

indispensable condition of the successful working of the procedure and many
conventions exist which have their object not only to ensure the impartiality of
the speaker but also to ensure that his impartiality is recognized.” The
unanimous selection of P. A. Sangma as the Speaker of the eleventh Lok Sabha
set a very healthy precedent. A candidate put up by the Opposition (BJP and its
allies) had already full support of the Congress and the United Front.

During his tenure, he upheld the twin principles of impartiality and transparency
while performing his duties as a speaker though he had long innings as a
Congress leader both in the Party, and in Narasimha Rao’s Government. The
former incumbent of the office S.N. Chatterjee who is acknowledged as the
oldest and the best parliamentarian is apt to earn respect of the House. In fact
“almost all the incumbents of this’ office in the past had been active politicians
but once they assumed the Speaker’s office they not only played down their
political affiliations but were by and large impartial in their rulings.”

 The Deputy Speaker:

The Deputy Speaker is elected in the same manner as the Speaker is elected by
the House. He is removable from the office in the same manner. When he sits in
the seat of the Speaker, he is equipped with all the powers of the Speaker. When
he is appointed as a member of a Parliamentary Committee, he automatically
becomes its Chairman. As a Deputy Speaker, he enjoys the privilege of being
present at any meeting of any committee if he so chooses and also can preside
over its deliberations. His ruling regarding matters under discussion are
generally final. In the interest of uniformity in practice, the Speaker may
however guide him. In case of doubt, he may reserve any matter for the ruling
of the Speaker. It may, however, be pointed out that the Deputy Speaker is

18
otherwise like any ordinary member when the Speaker is in the chair. He may
participate in the debates, maintain his party loyalties and exercise his vote on
propositions before the House as any ordinary member. Conventionally the
Deputy Speaker is drawn from the Opposition Party. In the words of M.V.
Pylee, “it seems desirable; however, that he keeps himself aloof from
controversies and narrow partisan activities. This will enable him to cultivate a
mental climate of impartiality and exercise it whenever he presides over the
House “If the Deputy Speaker serves his party affiliations, he may be elected
unanimously by the House whenever the speakership falls vacant.

 Global comparison:
In Ireland, parliamentary systems close to ours, the position of Speaker is
given to someone who has built up credibility by relinquishing his or her
political ambitions. The Westminster system considers it a taboo to induct
a Speaker into the cabinet. Only the U.S. with its rigorous separation of
powers between the judiciary, executive and legislature, allows the
Speaker to openly engage in active politics. Offering future rewards for
performance as a Speaker has made the position a stepping stone for
political ambition. No sitting Speaker of the House of Commons in
Britain has lost his or her seat, given the convention not to field
candidates in the Speaker’s constituency. In India, there are many
Speakers who have lost their seats in general elections. Indian speakers
are not made members of the Rajya Sabha after they demit office; the
British Parliament automatically elevates the Speaker to the House of
Lords.
 Page Committee:
The page Committee, headed by V.S. Page, suggested that if the Speaker had
conducted himself or herself in an impartial and efficient manner during the
tenure of his or her office, he or she should be allowed to continue in the next
Parliament.

 Speaker and the Committees

The Committees of the House function under the overall direction of the
Speaker. All such Committees are constituted by her or by the House. The
Chairmen of all Parliamentary Committees are nominated by her. Any
procedural problems in the functioning of the Committees are referred to her for
directions. Committees like the Business Advisory Committee, the General
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Purposes Committee and the Rules Committee work directly under her
Chairmanship.

 Independence and Impartiality:

The office of the Speaker is vested with great prestige, position, authority,
independence and impartiality becomes its sine qua non. The following
provisions ensure the independence and impartiality of the office of the
Speaker:

He is provided with a security of tenure. He can be removed only by a

resolution passed by the Lok Sabha by an absolute majority and not by an
ordinary majority. This motion of removal can be considered and discussed only
when it has the support of at least 50 members. His salaries and allowances are
fixed by Parliament. They are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India and
thus are not subject to the annual vote of Parliament. His work and conduct
cannot be discussed and criticised in the Lok Sabha except on a substantive
motion. His powers of regulating procedure or conducting business or
maintaining order in the House are not subject to the jurisdiction of any Court.
He cannot vote in the first instance. He can only exercise a casting vote in the
event of a tie. This makes the position of Speaker impartial. He is given a very
high position in the order of precedence. He is placed at seventh rank; along
with the Chief Justice of India .He has higher rank than all the cabinet ministers
except the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister. Under the Rules of Lok
Sabha, the Speaker nominates from amongst the members a panel of not more
than ten chairpersons. There are numerous such instances in our polity where
the Speaker of the Assembly has precipitated a political crisis by seemingly
political decisions.

 Instances:
In 1988, Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P.H. Pandian disqualified six senior
AIADMK ministers for giving up their party membership, along with 27 other
MLAs, identified with the pro-Jayalalithaa faction.

Sixteen MLAs in the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly were disqualified by the

Speaker, Nabam Rebia, in 2016 despite not officially leaving the party or
defying its directives.

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Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker, Govind Singh Kunjwal, disqualified nine
MLAs from the ruling party in 2016, despite the MLAs not leaving the
Congress or voting against it in the Assembly.

Meghalaya Speaker, P.R. Kyndiah, suspended the voting rights and later even
disqualified five MLAs in the 1990s, just prior to a non-confidence motion.

Until 1996, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha always belonged to the ruling party.
The election of P.A. Sangma of the Congress, on a unanimous basis, set another
convention – with the Speaker belonging to a party other than the ruling party.
More recently, we have reversed track and moved back towards having the
Speaker being from the ruling coalition.

 LIST OF LOK SABHA SPEAKERS

Ganesh
15 May 27 February 3 years, Indian National
1 Vasudev 1st
1952 1956 288 days Congress
Mavalankar

8 March 1 year,
10 May 1957 2nd
1956 63 days
M. A.
2
Ayyangar
11 May 16 April 4 years,
1957 1962 340 days

Sardar
17 April 16 March 4 years,
3 Hukam 3rd
1962 1967 333 days
Singh

Neelam
17 March 2 years,
4 Sanjiva 19 July 1969 4th
1967 124 days
Reddy

8 August 19 March 1 year,

5 Gurdial
Singh 1969 1971 221 days

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 Dhillon 22 March 1 December 4 years,
5th
1971 1975 254 days

15
Bali Ram 25 March 1 year,
6 January
Bhagat 1977 69 days
1976

Neelam
26 March
(4) Sanjiva 13 July 1977 109 days 6th Janata Party
1977
Reddy

21 July 21 January 2 years,

7 K. S. Hegde
1977 1980 184 days

22
3 years,
January 27 Oct 1984 7th
358 days
1980
Balram Indian National
8
Jakhar Congress
16 18
4 years,
January December 8th
336 days
1985 1989

19
1 year,
9 Rabi Ray December 9 July 1991 9th Janata Dal
202 days
1989

10 July 4 years, Indian National

10 Shivraj Patil 22 May 1996 10th
1991 317 days Congress

P. A. 23 May 23 March 1 year,

11 11th
Sangma 1996 1998 304 days

24 March 19 October 1 year,

12th Telugu Desam Party
1998 1999 209 days
G. M. C.
12
Balayogi 22
3 March 2 years,
October 13th
2002 132 days
1999

Manohar 10 May 2 years,

13 2 June 2004 Shiv Sena
Joshi 2002 23 days

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 Somnath 4 June 4 years, Communist Party of
14 31 May 2009 14th
Chatterjee 2004 361 days India (Marxist)

Meira 4 June 5 years, Indian National

15 4 June 2014 15th
Kumar 2009 0 days Congress

Sumitra 5 June 4 years,

16 Incumbent 16th Bharatiya Janata Party
Mahajan 2014 115 days

 Conclusion:
In a democracy like India, there should be neutrality in the Speaker. Instances
where the Speaker is named on a list of MPs who withdraw support from the
government must be avoided, to prevent encroachment on the Speaker’s
neutrality. We need to find ways to protect the Speaker from undue political
pressure and incentives.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books Referred:

 Indian Polity - M Laxmikanth

 Political Science - S R Myneni

Websites Referred:

 www.loksabha.nic.in
 www.wikipedia.com
 www.parliamenttofindia.nic.in

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