BJP's Kota MP Om Birla has been re-elected as the Lok Sabha Speaker by a voice vote in a rare election forced by the opposition after the NDA refused to offer INDIA bloc the deputy speaker's position.
Role & powers of Speaker
As Speaker, Birla will preside over the Lower House proceedings and will play a key role in the smooth functioning of the House. Here are the core responsibilities and powers of a Lok Sabha Speaker:
Conducting the House: The Speaker must ensure that the House operates according to parliamentary traditions and democracy. He or she presides over the House meetings, maintains discipline and decorum among members. This includes deciding who speaks, the order of proceedings, and making sure the rules of the House are followed. The Speaker also safeguards the rights and privileges of MPs.
Acting against MPs: expla In serious cases, the Speaker can remove an MP from their position.
Questions and records: The Speaker decides the admissibility of a question raised by a member and how the proceedings of the House are published. The Speaker has the power to expunge, in full or in part, remarks that he or she may consider unparliamentary. Critical remarks against the ruling party may not be published if the Speaker decides to expunge them.
Voice votes: When the treasury benches seem thin in the House, the Speaker can disregard a request for division and push a Bill through by voice vote. The Speaker also certifies Money Bills and can decide on other bills related to finance.
Power to adjourn: If there are not enough MPs present, the Speaker can adjourn or suspend the meeting until the quorum is met.
Disqualification of members: The Tenth Schedule or the anti-defection law gives the Speaker of the House the power to disqualify legislators who ‘defect’ from a party. Defections can alter numbers in the House and cause a government to fall.
Can a Speaker be removed?
The Speaker does not enjoy immunity in the House and his/her term can be cut short by a resolution passed by a majority of Lok Sabha members.
A motion of no-confidence can be moved against the Speaker with a notice of 14 days as per Article 94 of the Constitution.
The reasons for removal could be resignation from the House, disqualification from Parliament or loss of faith by MPs.
How is a Speaker elected?
According to the Constitution, the Speaker is elected by a simple majority in the House. A Speaker’s term ends with the dissolution of the House.
Any member of the House can be elected as Speaker. There are no specific qualifications for becoming Speaker. The salary of the Speaker is drawn from the Consolidated Fund of India while that of other MPs flow from a statute voted on by the House.
In the history of Lok Sabha, there have been only four instances when a Speaker has not been elected unopposed. The fourth instance happened on Wednesday when the opposition fielded K Suresh as its candidate for the post. However, Birla won easily by a voice vote.
'Jiska speaker, uski sarkar’
This time, the BJP does not have a majority of its own in the Lok Sabha. This was also the situation in 1999 when Atal Bihar Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. The Speaker's role became crucial. A single vote cast by Odisha Congress leader Giridhar Gamang led to the fall of the government.
Lok Sabha Speaker GMC Balayogi of the TDP allowed Gamang to vote, despite him being sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Orissa (now Odisha) a few days ago. The final votes on the confidence motion stood at 269 for the NDA and 270 against it. A single vote led to the Vajpayee government's dismissal.
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