The Opposition is likely to field Faizabad MP and Samajwadi Party leader Awadhesh Prasad, for the post of Deputy Speaker. Learning from their experience during the Speaker’s election, where differences between Congress and Trinamool Congress came to the fore, the Opposition has decided to present a united front to force a contest for the position.
Though constitutionally mandated, the 17th Lok Sabha functioned without a Deputy Speaker. Besides speculation, there has been no formal indication from the government that the position will be filled in the 18th Lok Sabha either.
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Article 93 of the Constitution mandates that the Lok Sabha shall, “as soon as may be”, choose a member to be the Deputy Speaker. However, it does not provide a specific time frame.
According to sources, top leadership of Congress, Trinamool and SP — the three leading Opposition parties of the INDIA bloc — had informal talks to pick a consensus candidate who could send a strong message.
The leaders narrowed down their choice to Mr. Prasad, a nine-time MLA and first-time MP who hit the headlines for defeating BJP’s two-time MP Lallu Singh in the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat. The recently consecrated Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which the BJP had hoped would see them through to an easy majority, falls within this Lok Sabha seat.
“Mr. Prasad’s victory symbolises the defeat of BJP’s Hindutva agenda. As a Dalit leader, his victory from a general seat was also an extremely significant moment in Indian political history,” a top Opposition leader said. If the government does not make a move to appoint a Deputy Speaker before the first session of Parliament ends on July 3, the Opposition will be writing to Lok Sabha speaker on the issue, sources said.
A Deputy Speaker enjoys the same legislative powers as a Speaker. And in the absence of the Speaker because of death, illness or any other reason, the Deputy Speaker also assumes the administrative powers. It is parliamentary convention to elect a Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha from a party other than the ruling party to run an accountable democratic parliament
Traditionally, the position is reserved for the single largest Opposition party but not all governments have followed this norm. In 2014, in the first term of the Narendra Modi government, the post was accorded to BJP ally AIADMK’s Thambi Durai. In 2004 and 2009, when the Congress-led UPA government was in power, Shiromani Akali Dal MP Charanjit Singh Atwal and BJP MP Kariya Munda held the position. During the Atal Behari Vajpayee government, Congress’s P.M. Sayeed held the position.
