EDITORIAL ANALYSIS : Missing in Parliament

Source: Indian Express

Prelims: Parliamentary democracy, functions of whip, house rules, article 105, rule 353(Lok Sabha), parliamentary committees etc

Mains GS Paper II: Parliament-Structure, organization, functioning and conduct of business etc

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

The present Lok Sabha first met after the election on June 17, 2019.
- It has completed three years and seven months of its term.
- In June 2024, the 18th Lok Sabha is expected to be elected.

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Context

Parliament:

Parliament is the most important symbol of Indian democracy.
It is through summoning the House and calling MPs to participate in legislative and other business through:
- discussion, debates, committee dispensations, and other mechanisms
Parliament enables the citizens of the country: through their representatives, to participate in decision-making and hold the government to account.

Lok Sabha:

Article 83(2): the term of the Lok Sabha begins from the day of its first meeting and ends on the day it completes five years from that date unless it is dissolved earlier.
- So, the term of the present Lok Sabha will end on June 16, 2024.
It is the Lower House (First Chamber or Popular House and it represents the people of India as a whole.
Composition: The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha is fixed at 550 out of which 530 members are to be the representatives of the states and 20 of the UTs.
The current strength of Lok Sabha is 543, out of which 530 members represent the states and 13 represent the UTs.
Election of Representatives: The representatives of states are directly elected by the people from the territorial constituencies in the states.

Presiding officers:

There are two presiding officers for the Lok Sabha, namely the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, who are elected by the members of the House.
Under Article 93 As the House meets after the election these two presiding officers are elected one after the other.
The practice followed electing the Speaker after the oath-taking.
- Within a few days, the Deputy Speaker is also elected.
In the present Lok Sabha, the House has not elected a Deputy Speaker even after three years and seven months of its term are over.

Exceptions:

S Mallikarjunaiah in the 10th Lok Sabha who was elected 33 days after the election of the Speaker
Suraj Bhan who was elected 49 days after the election of the Speaker
P M Sayeed who was elected to that office 9 months after the election of the Speaker.

Deputy Speaker:

It is as important as the Speaker for the House.
Article 93 House shall elect the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker as soon as may be
The practice has been for the government to propose the name of the Speaker and choose a member from the Opposition as a consensus candidate for the post of Deputy Speaker.
The history of the office of Deputy Speaker goes back to the government of India Act of 1919 when he was called Deputy President as the Speaker was known as the president of the central legislative assembly.
The main functions of a Deputy Speaker was to preside over the sittings of the assembly in the absence of the Speaker and chair the select committees etc
This tradition was continued after Independence: Deputy Speaker was elected to chair, besides the Speaker, the meetings of the Constituent Assembly (Legislative).
The first Speaker was G V Mavalankar and the first Deputy Speaker was M Ananthasayanam Ayyangar who was elected by the Constituent Assembly (Legislative) on September 3, 1948.
Every Lok Sabha had a Deputy Speaker who would be elected after a few days of the election of the Speaker.
Choosing an Opposition member as the Deputy Speaker has been, by and large, followed as a convention.
If a government does not favor an Opposition member for political reasons, it is free to choose a member from its own party.

Election of the Deputy Speaker:

Rule 8 of the Rules and Procedure of Lok Sabha it is the Speaker who has to fix the date of the election of the Deputy Speaker.
Once the date is fixed, any member can propose the name of any other member through a motion for the consideration of the House.
The House can then proceed to elect its Deputy Speaker.
In reality: The government initiates the political process of the consultation with other parties and works out a consensus.
If this does not work, the government can propose the name of its own member for this position.
Other method: Since it is the Speaker who has to set the process in motion by fixing the date and he has not done it so far.
- any member of the House can move a resolution requesting the Speaker to fix the date.

Constitutional mandate:

The treasury benches cannot oppose such a resolution as it is aimed at implementing the constitutional mandate.
The date of election of the Speaker is decided by the President who needs to go by the advice of the Union cabinet
In the case of the Speaker, there is no constitutional requirement for the President to wait for the advice of the Union cabinet in fixing the date of election of the Deputy Speaker.

Way Forward

The Deputy Speaker has the same power as the Speaker when he presides over a sitting of the House.
No appeal lies to the Speaker against a ruling given by the Deputy Speaker.
- So the Speaker is powerless in the matter of revising or overruling a decision of the Deputy Speaker.
Under Article 95(1):The Deputy Speaker gets all the powers of the Speaker when the office of the Speaker is vacant, so the Deputy Speaker can also determine the petitions relating to disqualification under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
The Deputy Speaker gets to exercise these powers only in the absence of the Speaker; his decisions are final and binding when he gives a ruling.
The Supreme Court is seized of the matter and the status quo may be disturbed.
- Article 93 contains a mandatory provision which needs to be carried out by the House.