{"id":44342,"date":"2025-05-29T20:49:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T15:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=44342"},"modified":"2025-05-29T20:51:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T15:21:09","slug":"importance-of-deputy-speaker-in-lok-sabha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/29-05-2025\/importance-of-deputy-speaker-in-lok-sabha","title":{"rendered":"Importance of the Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ Polity and Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The position of the Deputy Speaker has been lying vacant for the last six years raising questions on constitutional adherence and democratic resilience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Deputy Speaker serves as the <strong>Second-in-Command Presiding Officer<\/strong> of the Lower House of Parliament of India \u2013 the Lok Sabha.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>According to <strong>Article 95(1)<\/strong>, the Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker if the post is vacant.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Deputy Speaker acts as the Speaker when <strong>the latter is absent from the sitting <\/strong>of the House.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Deputy Speaker<strong> presides over joint sittings <\/strong>of both Houses of Parliament in case the Speaker is absent from such a sitting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Election of Deputy Speaker<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha is elected by the Lok Sabha itself from amongst its members.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 93<\/strong> states that \u201cThe House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker\u201d.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The election<\/strong> of Deputy Speaker is governed by<strong> Rule 8 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha<\/strong>. According to Rule 8, the election \u201cshall be held on such date as the Speaker may fix\u201d.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Usually, the <strong>Speaker is chosen from the ruling party<\/strong> or ruling alliance, while the <strong>Deputy Speaker is selected from the opposition party<\/strong> or opposition alliance.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, there have been exceptions to this convention.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The first four Deputy Speakers, from 1952 to 1969, were from the ruling party.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There was no Deputy Speaker for the entire duration of the 17th Lok Sabha (2019-24).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Powers and Privileges\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>While performing the duties of or acting as the Speaker of Lok Sabha<\/strong> (i.e. while presiding over the sitting of Lok Sabha or a Joint Sitting of both the Houses), he\/she assumes all the powers of the Speaker of Lok Sabha.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Thus, in such times, the Deputy Speaker <strong>cannot vote in the first instance, <\/strong>rather he\/she can only <strong>exercise a Casting Vote<\/strong> in case of a tie.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When the Speaker presides over the House, the <strong>Deputy Speaker is like any other Ordinary Member<\/strong> of the House.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Thus, in such times, the <strong>Deputy Speaker can speak in the House, participate in its proceedings, and vote in the first instance<\/strong> on any question before the House.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He\/she has <strong>one special privilege<\/strong> -Whenever the Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha is appointed as a<strong> member of a Parliamentary Committee<\/strong>, he\/she automatically becomes its chairman.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Removal of Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha can be removed by a<strong> resolution passed by the Lok Sabha by an Effective Majority<\/strong> (i.e. a majority of the total membership of the House excluding the vacant seats).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A motion of removal of the Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha can be moved only after giving <strong>14 days\u2019 advance n<\/strong><strong>otice<\/strong> to the Speaker.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When a resolution for removal of the Deputy Speaker is under consideration, <strong>he\/she cannot preside at the sitting of the house<\/strong>, though he may be present.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns Over Prolonged Vacancy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The absence of the Deputy Speaker <strong>contradicts the intent of constitutional norms <\/strong>and undermines the concept of an inclusive and pluralist parliamentary democracy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>It dilutes the representational balance<\/strong> between government and Opposition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the event of the Speaker\u2019s resignation or incapacity, legislative functioning may stall, leading to institutional paralysis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concluding remarks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The office of the Deputy Speaker is a constitutional necessity, not a political choice. Its prolonged vacancy violates the spirit of the Constitution and undermines democratic norms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The issue calls for urgent correction to restore institutional balance and ensure the proper functioning of the Lok Sabha in accordance with constitutional values.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/the-importance-of-the-deputy-speaker\/article69630621.ece\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The position of the Deputy Speaker has been lying vacant for the last six years raising questions on constitutional adherence and democratic resilience.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Deputy Speaker serves as the Second-in-Command Presiding Officer of the Lower House of Parliament of India \u2013 the Lok Sabha.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">According to Article 95(1), the Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker if the post is vacant.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Deputy Speaker acts as the Speaker when the latter is absent from the sitting of the House.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Deputy Speaker presides over joint sittings of both Houses of Parliament in case the Speaker is absent from such a sitting.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/29-05-2025\/importance-of-deputy-speaker-in-lok-sabha\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44342"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44378,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44342\/revisions\/44378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}