Q.14 “Once a speaker, Always a speaker’! Do you think the practice should be adopted to impart objectivity to the office of the Speaker of Lok Sabha? What could be its implications for the robust functioning of parliamentary business in India. GS-II: POLITY (UPSC CSE 2020)

Answer:

INTRODUCTION:

Office of Speaker enjoy one of the highest significance in the parliamentary democracy. He is considered as the custodian of the House. Therefore, role of the Speaker is very important in the functioning of the parliamentary democracy.

Office of Speaker in India is given independence as per parliamentary conventions resembling to U.K. such as:

• • Speaker is not disqualified even if he/she resigns from the membership of political party in the name of which he/she got elected.
  • Speaker is given powers of interpretation of law and his stand is final. E.g. deciding whether a particular bill is money bill or not.
  • It is considered that Speaker should function in an apolitical manner.

In recent times, the stature of the office of Speaker has declined. There have been allegations of biasness, not upholding the decorum of the House, against the Speaker. Hence the debate has started that whether we should follow U.K. model of office of Speaker or not.

Convention of “Once a speaker, always a speaker’ as followed in U.K.:

• • By convention the speaker severs all ties with their political party while in office, as it is considered essential they be seen as an impartial presiding officer.
  • British speaker is elected at the beginning of parliament by and from among the members of House of Commons.
  • If the speaker of outgoing Parliament is still a member of the house and is willing to be re-elected, he can do so. Usually, he is re-elected as many times as he wants. A changes of party does not make any difference.
  • Also, after leaving office, the speaker normally takes no part in party politics. If elevated to the House of Lords, they would normally sit as a crossbencher.

In India, we cannot follow this convention as it is. Already, Speaker in India Parliament enjoy many such powers to function in independent manner. Speaker need to follow the convention established by reputed personalities in that position in the past such as G.V. Mavlankar (Father of the Lok Sabha).

About G.V. Mavlankar as a Speaker:

• • As Speaker of the First Lok Sabha of a new born nation, Mavalankar’s role was not merely that of a moderator and facilitator of its proceedings but of a Statesman and a founding father invested with the responsibility to establish rules, procedures, conventions and customs that suited the ethos of the land.
  • He accomplished all this with patience, perseverance, wisdom and above all with a remarkable sense of He observed the decorum of the House and also enforced it on others. He was a model Speaker, firm yet flexible, stern yet kind and sympathetic and always fair to all sections of the House.
  • On his initiative, the ‘Question Hour’ in its modern sense of the term became a regular and meaningful feature of parliamentary Devices like Short Notice Questions and Half- an-Hour Discussions were introduced as means to elicit information from the Government and thereby to make the Government truly accountable to the Parliament.
  • So long as he remained the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Mavalankar did not take any active interest in politics, even though he did not sever his linkages with the Indian National Congress. This linkage, however, did not affect his own conduct in He remained non-partisan and as such earned the admiration and respect of the entire House althrough his Speakership.

IMPLICATIONS

• • Apolitical Speaker will enjoy the confidence of all the parties by safeguarding their rights and privileges. This will maintain decorum in the house and improve the performance of deliberative functions.
  • Animpartial speaker can guard the freedom and liberty of the House from a dominant executive who may completely ignore the opinions of a minority, making the Lok Sabha a truly representative body.
  • Apolitical handling by the Speaker will allow the ruling party to carry out its functions without disregarding the opposition.This will enhance the accountability of the executive to the Parliament.

CONCLUSION:

Impartiality, fairness and autonomy in decision-making are the hallmarks of a robust institution. At a time when India’s fall in ranks in the latest Democracy Index has evoked concern, the office of the Speaker should be strengthened.