Kharge to PM: Initiate process to elect LS Deputy Speaker

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to initiate the process for the election of the Deputy Speaker. He reminded the PM that for the first time in Independent India's history, the position has remained vacant for two consecutive Lok Sabha terms.

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In a letter to the PM today, Kharge said that Article 93 of the Constitution mandates the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of the People.

"Constitutionally, the Deputy Speaker is the second-highest presiding officer of the House after the Speaker. Article 93 of the Constitution provides as under — the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker. 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," Kharge wrote.

"The procedure for this election mirrors that of the Speaker, with the only distinction being that the date for the Deputy Speaker's election is fixed by the Speaker, as per Rule 8(1) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. From the first to the 16^th Lok Sabha, every House has had a Deputy Speaker. By and large, it has been a well-established convention to appoint the Deputy Speaker from among the members of the principal Opposition party. However, for the first time in Independent India's history, this position has remained vacant for two consecutive Lok Sabha terms," said Kharge.

He said that no Deputy Speaker was elected during the 17^th Lok Sabha and this concerning precedent continues in the ongoing 18^th Lok Sabha.

"This does not augur well for India's democratic polity and is also in violation of well laid out provisions of the Constitution. In view of the foregoing and in keeping with the esteemed traditions of the House and the democratic ethos of our Parliament, I request you to initiate the process of electing a Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha without any further delay," said the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.