After four years of Modi Sarkar 2.0 and with only two parliament sessions left the winter and budget the 17th lok sabha is yet to get a Deputy Speaker. In spite of several reminders to lok sabha Speaker Om Birla, the election for the same is yet to be called. The matter has even reached the supreme court in the form of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL). The top court has demanded to know from the Centre why the post is still vacant. The function of the Deputy Speaker is to decide whether a bill is a Money Bill or not. He is also responsible for the discipline and decorum of the House. He is not subservient to the Speaker and is responsible directly to the House. In the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker authorises the powers of a Speaker.
Article 93 of the indian Constitution clearly states that both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker should be elected “as soon as may be”. Norm says the first parliament session after a new government takes oath shall elect both posts. Yet, the position of the Deputy Speaker of lok sabha the second-highest-ranking legislative officer after the Speaker has been vacant since Modi 2.0 came to power in 2019. Congress’ lok sabha whip Manickam Tagore blames the “intent” of the government. “One of the institutions, particularly in the lok sabha, is the office of the Deputy Speaker. That institution has been broken or is kept locked. His office has been kept locked … The simple reason is he (the Speaker) does not want to give it to the main opposition party, nothing else,” Tagore told.
Tagore was referring to a non-binding Parliamentary tradition where the post of the Deputy Speaker is generally given to the opposition. The last Deputy Speaker the indian parliament saw was DMK’s M Thambi Durai. Tagore further said in order to get a Deputy Speaker, the lok sabha secretariat has to convene an election for the post with the approval of the Speaker, who, in this case, is BJP’s Kota mp Om Birla. He makes a political point alleging that the fact that this post has been lying vacant for so long needs to be seen in the larger scheme of things of “democratic institutions” being targeted
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