Speaker's role in Indian Democracy
2020 FEB 2
Mains >
Polity > Parliament > Lok Sabha
WHY IN NEWS?
The Supreme Court has recently recommended to the Parliament that it consider removing the Speakers’ disqualification powers and instead form an independent tribunal to take up these petitions.
PRESIDING OFFICER:
- Each House of Parliament has its own presiding officer. There is a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker for the Lok Sabha and a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman for the Rajya Sabha. A panel of chairpersons for the Lok Sabha and a panel of vice-chairpersons for the Rajya Sabha is also appointed.
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Speaker of Lok Sabha
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Chairman of Rajya Sabha
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Election
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Is elected by the Lok Sabha from amongst its members. The date of election of the Speaker is fixed by the President.
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The vice-president of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
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Tenure
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Usually, he remains in office during the life of the Lok Sabha. Whenever the Lok Sabha is dissolved, the Speaker does not vacate his office and continues till the newly-elected Lok Sabha meets.
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Remains as Chairman as long as he holds the office of Vice President.
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Removal
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He has to vacate his office in any of the following three cases:
- If he ceases to be a member of the Lok Sabha
- If he resigns by writing to the Deputy Speaker
- If he is removed by a resolution passed by an absolute majority.
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The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha can be removed from his office only if he is removed from the office of the Vice-President.
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Independence and Impartiality
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- He is provided with a security of tenure. He can be removed only by a resolution passed by the Lok Sabha by an absolute majority.
This motion of removal can be considered and discussed only when it has the support of at least 50 members.
- His salaries and allowances are fixed by Parliament. They are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.
- His work and conduct cannot be discussed and criticized in the Lok Sabha except on a substantive motion.
- His powers of regulating procedure or conducting business or maintaining order in the House are not subject to the jurisdiction of any Court.
- He cannot vote in the first instance. He can only exercise a casting vote in the event of a tie.
- He is given a very high position in the order of precedence. He is placed at seventh rank, along with the Chief Justice of India.
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- As in case of the Speaker, the salaries and allowances of the Chairman are also fixed by the Parliament. They are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.
- However, during any period when the Vice-President acts as or discharges the functions of the President, he is not entitled to any salary or allowance payable to the Chairman.
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Role, Powers and functions
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- The Speaker is the head of Lok Sabha and the guardian of powers and privileges of the members, the House as a whole and its committees.
- He is the principal spokesman of the House and his decision in all Parliamentary matters is final.
- Within the House, he is the final interpreter of the provisions of the Constitution, the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha, and the parliamentary precedents.
- He maintains order and decorum in the House, decides the agenda, adjourns or suspends the house, presides over joint sittings and allows secret sittings.
- He decides whether a bill is a money bill or not.
- He decides the questions of disqualification of a member of the Lok Sabha, arising on the ground of defection
- He appoints the chairman of all the parliamentary committees of the Lok Sabha. He himself is the chairman of the Business Advisory Committee, Rules Committee and General Purpose Committee.
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As a presiding officer, the powers and functions of the Chairman are similar to those of the Speaker in the Lok Sabha, except in two matters:
- The Speaker decides whether a bill is a money bill or not. Chairman has no such powers.
- The Speaker presides over a joint sitting of two Houses of Parliament and not the chairman.
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ISSUES RELATED TO SPEAKER’S OFFICE:
- Questions over neutrality:
- On several occasions, the office of speaker has been criticised for being an agent of pernicious partisan politics.
- The root cause for this is the manner of their appointment. They contest the election for the post on a party ticket. Yet they are expected to conduct themselves in a non-partisan manner, while being beholden to the party for a ticket for the next election.
- Adjudicating powers of speaker under Xth schedule:
- The determination of whether a representative has become subject to disqualification for defection is made by the presiding officer of the House. This offers ample scope for Speakers to exercise discretion.
- This was seen in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Here, in recent years, opposition MLAs had broken away in small groups gradually to join the ruling party. However, it was alleged that the speaker delayed taking action against them till more than 2/3rd of the opposition had defected to the ruling party.
- Absoluteness of the Speaker’s decisions:
- The speaker has the power to take decisions on several matters such as deciding on whether a bill is a money bill or not, deciding on parliamentary matters etc. They have in many occasions come under the scanner.
- The determination of whether a representative has become subject to disqualification, post their defection, is made by the Speaker. This offers ample scope for Speakers to exercise discretion.
- E.g.: The speaker’s action of deciding the Aadhaar bill as a money bill was subjected to severe criticism.
- Violation of parliamentary conventions in appointment:
- Usually, a member belonging to the ruling party is elected the Speaker. A healthy convention, however, has evolved over the years whereby the ruling party nominates its candidate after informal consultations with the Leaders of other Parties and Groups in the House.
- Also, since the 11th Lok Sabha, there has been a consensus that the Speaker comes from the ruling party (or ruling alliance) and the post of Deputy Speaker goes to the main opposition party.
- However, in recent times, both these conventions have been bypassed.
- No incentives for taking up the mantle:
- In the British Parliament, once the speaker demits the office, he is automatically elevated to the House of Lords. However, Indian speakers are not made members of the Rajya Sabha after they demit office. They have to contest again.
- Limits the realization of needs of their constituencies:
- Though they may be elected as speakers, the member continues to be elected representatives. But they are unable to bat for the interests of their constituencies in the house.
WAY FORWARD:
- As the office of the Speaker is vested with great prestige, position and authority, independence and impartiality become its sine qua non. In the present situation however, the same cannot be attained without radical reforms.
- Political experts have suggested that a scheme should be brought wherein Speakers should renounce all political affiliations, membership and activity once they have been elected, both within the Assembly and in the country as a whole.
- The page Committee, headed by V.S. Page, suggested that if the Speaker had conducted himself or herself in an impartial and efficient manner during the tenure of his or her office, he or she should be allowed to continue in the next Parliament.
- The adjudicating powers of speaker on matters regarding 10th schedule should be removed. The same may be entrusted with the President or Governor, whose decisions should be based on the advice rendered by the election commission.
CASE STUDY: The British model
The Westminster system considers it a taboo to induct a Speaker into the cabinet. In Britain, the Speaker is strictly a non-party man. There is a convention that the Speaker has to resign from his party and remain politically neutral. They have also developed the convention not to field candidates in the Speaker’s constituency. Also, after his term, the British Parliament automatically elevates the Speaker to the House of Lords.
Prelims Question
Q. Despite the criticisms, the role of Speaker in Indian Democracy is paramount. Examine?
