Speaker of the Lok Sabha

Speaker of the Lok Sabha
लोक सभा अध्यक्ष
Style The Honourable
Appointer Members of the Lok Sabha
Term length During the life of the Lok Sabha (five years maximum)
Inaugural holder Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar
Formation 15 May 1952
Deputy M. Thambidurai
Website Speaker's Official Website

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. His/her role is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system of government. The speaker is elected in the very first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general elections. Serving for a term of five years, he/she is chosen from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha, and is by convention a member of the ruling party or alliance.

The current speaker is Sumitra Mahajan of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who is presiding over the 16th Lok Sabha. She is the second woman to hold the office, after her immediate predecessor Meira Kumar.

Powers and functions of the Speaker

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha conducts the business in house. He/She decides whether a bill is a money bill or not. He/She maintains discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for their unruly behaviour by suspending them. He/She permits the moving of various kinds of motions and resolutions like the motion of no confidence, motion of adjournment, motion of censure and calling attention notice as per the rules. The Speaker decides on the agenda to be taken up for discussion during the meeting. The date of election of speaker is fixed by the President. Further, all comments and speeches made by members of the House are addressed to the speaker. The speaker also presides over the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. The counterpart of the Speaker in the Rajya Sabha is the Chairman, who is the Vice President of India. In the warrant of precedence, the speaker of Lok Sabha comes next only to The Deputy Prime Minister of India. Speaker has the sixth rank in the political executive of India.

Removal of the Speaker

Speaker can be removed by the Lok Sabha by a resolution passed by a majority of all the members of the House per Articles 94 and 96.

Speaker is also removed on getting disqualified for being Lok Sabha member under sections 7 & 8 of Representation of the People Act, 1951.[1] This would arise out of speaker's wrong certification of a bill as money bill inconsistent with the definition given in Articles 110 of the constitution.[2] When courts uphold the unconstitutional act of the speaker for wrong certification of a bill as money bill, it amounts to disrespecting the constitution deserving conviction under Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 which is applicable for disqualification of speaker's Lok Sabha membership under section 8k of Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Protem Speaker

After a general election and the formation of a new government, a list of senior Lok Sabha members prepared by the Legislative Section is submitted to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, who selects a protem speaker. The appointment has to be approved by the president.[3]

The first meeting after the election when the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are selected by members of the Parliament is held under the pro tem Speaker. In absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker acts as Speaker and in the absence of both a committee of six member selected by the Speaker will act as Speaker according to their seniority.

List of Speakers

No. Name Portrait Term Party
From To Length Lok Sabha
1 Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar 15 May 1952 27 February 1956 3 years, 288 days 1st Indian National Congress
2 M. A. Ayyangar 8 March 1956 10 May 1957 1 year, 63 days
11 May 1957 16 April 1962 4 years, 340 days 2nd
3 Sardar Hukam Singh 17 April 1962 16 March 1967 4 years, 333 days 3rd
4 Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 17 March 1967 19 July 1969 2 years, 124 days 4th
5 Gurdial Singh Dhillon — 8 August 1969 19 March 1971 1 year, 221 days
22 March 1971 1 December 1975 4 years, 254 days 5th
6 Bali Ram Bhagat — 15 January 1976 25 March 1977 1 year, 69 days
(4) Neelam Sanjiva Reddy 26 March 1977 13 July 1977 109 days 6th Janata Party
7 K. S. Hegde 21 July 1977 21 January 1980 2 years, 184 days
8 Balram Jakhar 22 January 1980 27 oct 1984 3 years, 358 days 7th Indian National Congress
16 January 1985 18 December 1989 4 years, 336 days 8th
9 Rabi Ray — 19 December 1989 9 July 1991 1 year, 202 days 9th Janata Dal
10 Shivraj Patil 10 July 1991 22 May 1996 4 years, 317 days 10th Indian National Congress
11 P. A. Sangma 23 May 1996 23 March 1998 1 year, 304 days 11th
12 G. M. C. Balayogi — 24 March 1998 19 October 1999 1 year, 209 days 12th Telugu Desam Party
22 October 1999 3 March 2002 2 years, 132 days 13th
13 Manohar Joshi 10 May 2002 2 June 2004 2 years, 23 days Shiv Sena
14 Somnath Chatterjee 4 June 2004 31 May 2009 4 years, 361 days 14th Communist Party of India (Marxist)
15 Meira Kumar 4 June 2009 4 June 2014 5 years, 0 days 15th Indian National Congress
16 Sumitra Mahajan 5 June 2014 Incumbent 2 years, 196 days 16th Bharatiya Janata Party

The names, terms of office and Lok Sabhas were taken from:

References

  1. ↑ "Sections 7 & 8k, Representation of the People Act, 1951" (PDF). Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  2. ↑ "Aadhaar Act as Money Bill: Why the Lok Sabha isn't Immune from Judicial Review". Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Ashok, Akash Deep (4 June 2014). "Pro tem Speaker: All you need to know about this parliamentary post". India Today. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
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