Congress' K Suresh to be Speaker pro-tem: Why is post important?

The Congress’ K Suresh is set to be the pro-tem Speaker in the Lok Sabha, NDTV reported.

The outlet quoted sources as saying that Suresh would serve as the pro-tem Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha until the Centre takes a formal decision on the Speaker’s post.

Suresh, 68, is an MP from Kerala’s Mavelikara and the longest-serving member of Parliament.

The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin 24 on June during which new members of the Lower House will take oath and the Speaker will be elected.

President Droupadi Murmu will administer to Suresh the oath of office at the Rashtrapati Bhavan before Parliament convenes on 24 June.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will then move the motion for election of the Speaker in the Lok Sabha on 26 June.

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But what do we know about the Speaker pro-tem? And why is the post important?

Let’s take a closer look:

What do we know about the Speaker pro-tem?

Pro-tem is a Latin phrase.

It means ‘for the time being.’

Hence, the Speaker pro-tem is a temporary position.

The Speaker of the previous Lok Sabha vacates his position before the new House meets.

The Speaker pro-tem is appointed by the President of India.

This post is, by tradition, assigned to the most senior member of the House.

In 2019, Virendra Kumar, the seven-time MP from Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh, was chosen as Speaker pro-tem.

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Why is Speaker pro-tem’s post important?

Because the Speaker pro-tem has several duties.

These include

• Presiding over the first sitting of the Lok Sabha

• Administering the oath of office to the newly elected MPs

• Conducting the floor test to prove the government’s majority.

• Holding the vote to elect the speaker and deputy speaker

The office of the pro tem speaker ceases to exist after the new Speaker of the House is chosen.

What about the Speaker’s post?

The Speaker is arguably the most important person in the House.

The Speaker, the custodian of the House, is chosen by the newly elected representatives.

The Speaker is responsible for running things in the House.

He or she keeps order, can suspend proceedings in case of bad behaviour and also takes the final call when it comes to the rules and procedures.

Even more importantly, the Speaker can make or break a coalition government.

This is because he or she has the final voice on disputes related to disqualification of MPs and in a situation in which there is a no-confidence motion against the government.

Experts say the Speaker’s role becomes important when it comes to proving majority on the House floor or ruling on the anti-defection law.

Rule six of the law states that the Speaker has the power “to answer on the question of disqualification of such member, with the decision of such Chairman or Speaker being final.”

The June 2022 political crisis in Maharashtra, when MPs were disqualified and the Uddhav Thackeray government was toppled, is a high-profile example of the Speaker’s importance.

The then Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra accused Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar of being biased.

Arguably the most dramatic example of a Speaker making such a decision came in 1999.

The then speaker GMC Balayogi allowed then Odisha chief minister Giridhar Gamang to vote in a no-confidence motion against the Vajpayee government – leading to its fall.

According to The Times of India, another famous example of the Speaker being key to the government was when Somnath Chatterjee of the CPI(M) refused to resign.

This despite his party leaving the UPA government over the India-US nuclear deal.

As per the newspaper, Chatterjee claimed he was non-partisan as he was overseeing the proceedings of the House.

The CPI (M) expelled Chatterjee from the party.

His family would later asked members of the party to leave Chatterjee’s funeral. They also refused to let the party flag be draped over his body.

“When it comes to the Lok Sabha, the Speaker’s decision is final. The TDP, which has been a part of several coalition governments, knows the importance of the post,” experts told The Tribune.

Indian Express reported that the JD(U) and TDP are eyeing the post to ‘insulate’ themselves from any possible fallout in the future.

The NDA government thus has a very important decision to make about whom to choose as Speaker.

The position of deputy speaker is usually given to someone from the Opposition.

However, this is more tradition than rule.

The INDIA bloc won 233 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, while the BJP-led NDA won 293 seats to retain power for the third consecutive term. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with 16 seats and Janata Dal (U) with 12 seats are the biggest allies of the BJP which bagged 240 seats.

The Opposition bloc is egging on BJP ally TDP to insist on the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker, cautioning the regional party that it may face gradual disintegration due to BJP’s machinations.

“We have the experience that the BJP betrays the people who support it,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said in Mumbai on Sunday.

The JD(U) has declared support for a BJP candidate as the Lok Sabha Speaker, while the TDP is understood to have favoured a consensus candidate for the coveted post.

Aaditya stirs the pot

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray earlier said the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janta Dal United (JDU), key to forming the next NDA government at the Centre, must insist on getting the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post.

In a post on ‘X’, Thackeray claimed that the minute the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forms a government, it will try to break the parties of its allies.

“A humble suggestion to the possible allies of the BJP in the newly remembered NDA. Get the post of the Speaker,” he said.

Thackeray also indirectly referred to the splits engineered in the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

“Having experienced the tactics of the BJP, the minute they form government with you, they will break the promises and try to break your parties too. You’ll have experienced it earlier,” he said, tagging the accounts of the TDP and JDU on ‘X.’

Parliamentary Party and NDA leaders submitted their letters of support.

With inputs from agencies