The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), chose to maintain suspense over the appointment of the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha. Soon after NDA’s nominee Om Birla was re-elected as the Speaker on Wednesday, the focus shifted to the stand-off between the government and the opposition over the deputy Speaker’s post.
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The government and the opposition have locked horns over the position, with the latter asserting that a member from the opposition bloc should be elected to the post. The stalemate led to the opposition not giving unconditional support to Birla, paving the way for an election after Congress MP K Suresh filed his nomination for the Speaker’s post.
Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Kiren Rijiju, while reaching out to the opposition to secure support for Birla, have not divulged whether the opposition’s demand will be met. Several opposition bloc leaders said they were told that a discussion on the deputy’s position will be held separately later, but the date has not been disclosed.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said the government is yet to convey its stance on the issue.
Responding to a question on when the process is likely to begin, a BJP leader said the party high command will take a call on the issue.
In the 17th Lok Sabha, the position of the deputy speaker remained vacant. Prior to that, AIADMK’s M Thambi Durai was deputy speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha while BJP’s Sumitra Mahajan was the Speaker. The AIADMK was then an ally of the BJP.
With their numbers significantly better in the lower house, a resurgent opposition has been underscoring the need to stick to the convention and offer the deputy speaker’s post to them. From the 6th to the 16th Lok Sabha, the deputy speaker’s position was held by leaders from the opposition.
According to Article 95(1), the deputy speaker performs the duties of the Speaker when the post is vacant. The deputy speaker has the same general powers as the Speaker when presiding over the House.
While there is no time frame for the appointment of the deputy, the rules call for the appointment “as soon as may be”. Just as the Speaker, the deputy too is elected from among the Lok Sabha members by a simple majority of members present and voting.
