Pro – Tem Speaker | Burning Issues | PDF Download

MCQ1. Consider the following statements:

1. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly shall vacate his/her office if he/she ceases to be a member of the Assembly.
2. Whenever the Legislative Assembly is dissolved, the Speaker shall vacate his/her immediately. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER 1

• The Speaker is elected by the assembly itself from amongst its members. Usually, the Speaker remains in office during the life of the assembly. However, he vacates his office earlier in any of the following three cases: 1. if he ceases to be a member of the assembly….. So statement#1 is right.
•  whenever the Lok Sabha is dissolved, the Speaker does not vacate his office and continues till the newly-elected Lok Sabha meets. Constitution of India, Art 179: “…Provided further that, whenever the Assembly is dissolved, the Speaker shall not vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting of the Assembly after the dissolution

 
MCQ2. Consider the following statements

1. In the election for Lok Sabha or State Assembly, the winning candidate must get at least 50 percent of the votes polled, to be declared elected
2. According to the provisions laid down in the Constitution of India, in Lok Sabha, the Speaker’s post goes to the majority party and the Deputy Speaker’s to the opposition Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1.  1 only
2.  2 only
3. Both 1 & 2
4.  Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER – 4

• About statement 1 – candidate is not required to get at least 50 percent of the votes, he just needs to secure maximum number of votes among all
• About statement 2 – Speaker will be from majority party & Deputy Speaker from opposition is a convention not a constitutional provision

PRO TEM SPEAKER

• After a general election and the formation of a new government, a list of senior Lok Sabha members prepared by the Legislative Section is submitted to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, who selects a pro tem speaker. The appointment has to be approved by the President. The president/governor will administer the oath of the office for the pro-tem speaker.

 PRO TEM SPEAKER

• The first meeting after the election when the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are selected by members of the Parliament is held under the pro tem Speaker.
• In absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker acts as Speaker and in the absence of both a committee of six members selected by the Speaker will act as Speaker according to their seniority. Eligibility criteria to become the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is:
• He or she must be a citizen of India; He or she must not be less than 25 years of age; and He or she should not hold any office of profit under the Government of India, or a state government.

 PRO-TEM SPEAKER: SELECTION AND FUNCTIONS

•  When the house elects the new speaker the office of the pro-tem speaker ceases to exist. Hence the office of the pro-tem speaker is a temporary one wh

 VERDICT OF VARIOUS HIGH COURTS

• The Bombay High Court in its 1994 judgement in the Surendra Vassant Sirsat case holds that a pro-tem is Speaker of the House “for all purposes with all powers, privileges and immunities” until the Speaker is elected.
•  The Odisha High Court also agreed in the Godavaris Misra versus Nandakisore Das, Speaker, Orissa Legislative Assemblycase when it said the “powers of the Speaker pro-tem are co-extensive with the powers of elected Speaker”.
• The pro-tem speaker also has same powers, privileges as that of the Speaker. Hence the experts say that there is a need to bring greater clarity with respect to the selection of the pro-tem speaker so that the credentials of the democracy are not dented

 

Latest Burning Issues | Free PDF

Sharing is caring!