As the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha is set to begin in mid-June, attention is focused on whether the House will finally get a Deputy Speaker. With the INDIA bloc parties holding an impressive 234 seats, opposition leaders are advocating for the appointment of a Deputy Speaker, a role that has been vacant for the past five years. The outgoing 17th Lok Sabha operated without a Deputy Speaker, a situation former Lok Sabha Secretary-General P DT Achary deems unconstitutional, as the Constitution mandates this election soon after the Speaker is chosen.
Article 93 of the Constitution requires the Lok Sabha to elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker as soon as possible. Achary emphasizes that the Deputy Speaker position is not only constitutional but traditionally assigned to the opposition. He argues that the absence of a Deputy Speaker in the last term was unconstitutional and underscores the importance of electing one promptly in the new session.
Opposition leaders assert that the Deputy Speaker post has historically been held by opposition parties, recalling that during the UPA rule from 2004-2014, the opposition BJP-led NDA held the position. This tradition dates back to 1956 when Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru nominated Sardar Hukam Singh, an Opposition Akali Dal MP, as Deputy Speaker. The Deputy Speaker, when presiding over the House, holds the same powers as the Speaker according to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha.
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