The Hindu : Constitutional position on Speaker's office

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 04, 2002

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Constitutional position on Speaker's office
By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 3. For the first time in the history of Indian Parliament, the Lok Sabha Speaker has died in harness and, according to the Constitution, the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha would discharge the duties of the Speaker till the House elects a new Speaker.

According to Article 93 of the Constitution, ``The House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the House shall choose another member to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker, as the case may be''.

Article 95 (1) states: ``While the office of the Speaker is vacant, the duties of the office shall be performed by the Deputy Speaker or, if the office of Deputy Speaker is also vacant, by such member of the House of the People as the President may appoint for the purpose.''

95 (2) further states: ``During the absence of the Speaker from any sitting of the House of the People the Deputy Speaker or, if he is also absent, such person as may be determined by the rules of procedure of the House, or, if no such person is present, such other person as may be determined by the House, shall act as Speaker''.

The Telugu Desam Party which extended support from the outside to the BJP-led NDA Government in 1998 and 1999 had sought the post of Speaker and it is unlikely to relinquish its claim now.

G.M.C. Balayogi who was chosen by the TDP chief, N. Chandrababu Naidu, to be the Speaker had made it to the post at the eleventh hour in 1998. The TDP Parliamentary Party leader, K. Yerran Naidu was on stand-by as Mr. Balayogi's arrival here was delayed then. In fact, the BJP had agreed earlier to back the candidature of P.A. Sangma (then belonging to the Congress) till the TDP arrangement came through.

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