The Parliament: 2. Speaker of Lok Sabha:

Transcription

1 The Parliament: 2 Speaker of Lok Sabha: Election: o Elected by lok sabha from amongst its members o Date of election is fixed by President o Remains in office during the life of lok sabha [ Even when Lok Sabha is dissolved he does not vacate his office and continues till the newly elected lok sabha (not speaker, as speaker is elected after the meeting of the new Lok Sabha) meets] o Does not resigns from the membership of his party o No separate oath and affirmation for the office except for being a member of the house which is already done before in this case o If ceases to be a member of the lok sabha o Resigns in writing addressed to deputy speaker of the house o Removal: Removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all members of lok sabha Needs support of at least 50 members When the resolution of the removal of the speaker is under consideration he cannot preside the sittings of the house, though can be present and speak and take part in the proceeding of the house. Can vote in first instance but cannot in case of equality Role Powers and Functions: o Head of lok sabha and it s representatives o Guardian of the powers and privileges of the members, house as whole and it s committees o Principle spokesperson of the house and his decision in all the parliamentary affairs is final o 3 sources of powers and duties of the lok sabha speaker: Constitution of India Rules for procedure and conduct of business of Lok Sabha Parliamentary conventions o Powers and duties: Maintains order and decorum of the house for conducting its business and to regulate its proceedings, his power in this regard is final Final interpreter of: ( in the house) Constitution of India Rules of procedure and conduct of business of lok sabha Parliamentary precedents 1

2 o Adjourns the house or suspends the meeting in absence of the quorum (1/10 th of total strength of the house) Does not vote in first instance, but when there is deadlock he votes to resolve it (called as Casting Vote ) Presides the joint meeting of the two houses called by the president to resolve a deadlock between the two houses on a bill Can allow secret sittings of the house (no stranger is allowed to be present in chamber, lobby or the galleries except with the prior permission of the speaker) Final authority to decide whether a bill is a money bill or not. When such a bill is transmitted to Rajya Sabha or presented to president for his assent it requires endorsement from the speaker that it s a money bill Decides on the question of disqualification of a member on the basis of defection, but decision subjected to Judicial review Ex-officio chairman of : Indian Parliamentary group of inter parliamentary union Conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies in country Business advisory committee Rules committee General purpose committee Appoints the chairman of all the parliamentary committees and supervises their functioning Provisions to ensure his Independence and Impartiality : Security of tenure Cannot be removed by an ordinary majority, rather requires absolute majority Salaries and allowances though fixed by parliament but charged on consolidated fund of India and thus not subjected to annual vote His work and conduct cannot be discussed or criticized except on a substantive motion His powers of regulating the procedure or conducting the business or maintaining the order of the house is not subjected to judicial review Ranked 7 th along with chief justice of India, above all cabinet ministers except PM and deputy PM Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha: Election: o Elected from amongst the members of lok sabha after the election of speaker o Date of election fixed by the Speaker o If ceases to be a member of the lok sabha o Resigns in writing addressed to speaker of the house 2

3 o Removal: Removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all members of lok sabha Needs support of at least 50 members Role Powers and Functions: o Performs the duties of the speaker s office when it is vacant and also acts as the speaker when latter is absent from any sitting. In both cases assumes all the powers of the speaker o Presides the joint sitting of both the houses in absence of the speaker o Not subordinate to the speaker rather is responsible to the house o Becomes ex-officio chairman of the parliamentary committee he is appointed to o When speaker presides over the house acts like any other member of the house I.e. can speak, participate and vote in house NOTE -> The institution of the speaker and deputy speaker originated in India in 1921 under provisions of Government of India act of 1919 (Montegua-Chelmsford reforms) First Speaker of centeral legislative assembly: Frederick Whyte First Deputy Speaker of central legislative assembly: Sachidanand Sinha 1921 First elected and first Indian speaker: Vithalbhai J. Patel (1925) Panel of Chairpersons in India: Appointed by the speaker From amongst the members of the house Not more than 10 in number Presides the meetings of the house in absence of the speaker and deputy speaker Enjoys same powers as that of the speaker NOTE -> When neither the speaker nor the deputy speaker and not even any member of panel of chairperson is available then the speaker of the house is decided by the house itself The panel cannot preside over the house when offices of the speaker and the deputy speaker falls vacant in such times the duties of the speaker are performed by such a member as appointed by the president for the purpose 3

4 Speaker Pro Tem: Provision provided in the constitution Appointed by the president Usually the senior most member appointed Has all the powers of the speaker Functions: o Presides over the first sitting of the newly-elected Lok Sabha o Administers oath to new members o Enables the house to elect the new speaker Chairman of Rajya Sabha: Vice President of India is the ex-officio chairman of RS. Though his powers in RS is same as those of speaker in LS but speaker exclusively has two powers which chairman of RS doesn t enjoy: Decision of the speaker of LS is final on the question of whether a bill is Money Bill or not The honor of presiding the joint meeting of the two houses of the parliament is given exclusively to the speaker of LS and in his absence to the deputy speaker of LS but never to the chairman of RS NOTE -> unlike speaker of LS (who is the member of LS) Chairman of RS is not the member of the house When the resolution for removal of the vice-president is under consideration, he ceases to preside over the meetings of the RS but still can only speak and take part in proceedings but cannot vote (unlike speaker of LS who can vote also in such a situation). Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha: Elected by RS from amongst its members o If ceases to be a member of the Rajya sabha o Resigns in writing addressed to chairman of the house o Removal: Removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all members of Rajya sabha Performs the functions of the chairman of the house in case when vice-president acts as president or discharges the duties of the president or the chairman is absent. When chairman presides over the sitting of the house the deputy chairman acts a normal member of the house. 4

5 Secretariat of Parliament: Both houses have separate secretarial staffs though some posts can be common to both the houses Their recruitment and service conditions are regulated by the parliament Secretary-General: o Head of the secretariat o Permanent officer o Appointed by the presiding officer of the house 5