Previous Year Question
With reference to the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, consider the following statements:
As per the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha, the election of the Deputy Speaker shall be held on such date as the Speaker may fix.
There is a mandatory provision that the election of a candidate as Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha shall be from either the principal opposition party or the ruling party.
The Deputy Speaker has the same power as of the Speaker when presiding over the sitting of the House and no appeal lies against his rulings.
The well-established parliamentary practice regarding the appointment of the Deputy Speaker is that the motion is moved by the Speaker and duly seconded by the Prime Minister.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
1 and 3
1, 2 and 3
3 and 4
2 and 4
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is correct. Rule 8 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha provides that the election of the Deputy Speaker shall be held on a date fixed by the Speaker.
Article 93 requires the Lok Sabha to choose two of its members as Speaker and Deputy Speaker as soon as may be. The Constitution does not prescribe a specific deadline for electing the Deputy Speaker.
Statement 2 is incorrect. Neither the Constitution nor the Lok Sabha Rules contain a mandatory requirement that the Deputy Speaker must belong to either the ruling party or the principal opposition party.
Offering the office to a member of the Opposition has been a parliamentary convention, not a legal or constitutional obligation.
Statement 3 is correct. While presiding over a sitting, the Deputy Speaker possesses the same powers as the Speaker. The Deputy Speaker conducts proceedings, maintains order and gives rulings on procedural questions. No appeal lies within the House against such rulings given as the presiding officer.
Under Article 95:
The Deputy Speaker performs the Speaker’s duties when the Speaker’s office is vacant.
The Deputy Speaker presides when the Speaker is absent.
When both are absent, a person determined under the Rules presides over the sitting.
Statement 4 is incorrect. There is no parliamentary practice requiring the motion for the Deputy Speaker’s election to be moved by the Speaker and mandatorily seconded by the Prime Minister. On the appointed date, a Lok Sabha member may move a motion proposing another member for election as Deputy Speaker, and another member seconds it.
Other important facts are:
The Deputy Speaker is elected from among the members of the Lok Sabha.
The Deputy Speaker submits a resignation to the Speaker.
Under Article 94, the Deputy Speaker may be removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Lok Sabha.
At least 14 days’ notice is required before moving the removal resolution.
While presiding, the Deputy Speaker ordinarily does not vote in the first instance but exercises a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.