Speaker of the Lok Sabha

Table of Contents

Speaker of the Lok Sabha- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Indian Constitution- Parliament and State Legislatures– structure, functioning, the conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Speaker of the Lok Sabha

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the constitutional and ceremonial head of the House who is primarily responsible for managing the functions of the Lok Sabha.
Presiding Officer: Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the Presiding Officer of the Lok Sabha and in his/her absence Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha acts as the presiding officer of the House.
Constitutional Provision: Article 93 of the Indian Constitution deals with both the office of Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha.

Historical Background of Office of Speaker

Government of India Act of 1919 (Montague-Chelmsford Reforms): Under its provisions, the office of speaker and deputy speaker was created in 1921.
- However, back then, the office of speaker and deputy speaker were called the President and Deputy President respectively.
Government of India Act of 1935: It changed the nomenclatures of President and Deputy President to the Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively.
- However, the old nomenclature continued till 1947.

Term of Office and Removal of the Vice-President of India

Election to the Office of Speaker of the Lok Sabha

Qualification: As per the Constitution of India, the Speaker should be a member of the House (Lok Sabha).
- Convention: There has been a convention evolved where ruling party nominates its candidate after informal consultations with leaders of other parties and groups in the House.
- This way the elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha enjoys the respect and obedience of all the members of the Lok Sabha.
Election Procedure: The speaker of the Lok Sabha is elected from all other members by simple majority of members present and voting in the House.
- Normally, the Speaker belongs to the Majority ruling party. However, there are certain cases when the elected Speaker did not belong to the majority ruling party of Lok Sabha
- For example- G. M. C. Balyogi, Manohar Joshi, Somnath Chatterjee.

List of Lok Sabha Speakers

Terms of the Office of Speaker of the Lok Sabha

Term of Office: The Speaker holds Office from the date of his/her election till immediately before the first meeting of the next Lok Sabha.
- Even after dissolution of the Lok Sabha, the Speaker does not vacate his office and continues till the newly-elected Lok Sabha meets.
- This means hies/her term extends beyond the terms of a Lok Sabha.
Eligible for Re-election: The speaker of Lok Sabha is eligible for re-election as well.

FAQs

Who is the Speaker of Lok Sabha?

Ans: The office of Speaker of Lok Sabha is the constitutional and ceremonial head of the House who is primarily responsible for managing the functions of the Lok Sabha.