President Droupadi Murmu has appointed seven-time Lok Sabha member of parliament Bhartruhari Mahtab of Bharatiya Janata Party as the pro-tem speaker of the newly constituted 18th Lok Sabha. This information was provided by the Union Parliamentary Affairs minister, Kiren Rijiju.

The first session of the newly constituted 18th Lok Sabha starts on 24 June 20224.

Normally, the senior-most newly elected member of the Lok Sabha is appointed as pro-tem speaker. This is a convention, not a rule.

Provisions regarding the Pro-Tem Speaker

The word pro-tem is not mentioned in the constitution. The ‘Handbook on the Working of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs mentions the procedure to be followed for the appointment of the pro-tem speaker.

According to Article 94 of the Indian constitution, the speaker of the former Lok Sabha resigns just before the first sitting of the newly elected Lok Sabha. It means that the 17th Lok Sabha Om Birla has to resign before the convening of the 18th Lok Sabha.

What happens when the Speaker & Deputy Speaker post is Vacant?

According to Article 95(1) of the constitution, if the office of the speaker and the deputy speaker is vacant, then the President appoints a member of the Lok Sabha as the speaker.

Thus the President uses this provision of the constitution to appoint a pro-tem speaker.

Procedure regarding the appointment of Pro-tem speaker

After the election of the new Lok Sabha, the legislative department of Union Parliamentary Affairs prepares a list of senior members of the newly elected Lok Sabha. Here, seniority is decided on the basis of the number of times the member has been elected to the Lok Sabha.

The list consists of four members and is submitted to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs/ Prime Minister for identifying a member as Speaker pro tem and another three members to assist the pro-tem speaker.

The list containing the name of the pro-tem speaker identified by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs/ Prime Minister is forwarded as an advice to the President and the President acts accordingly.

Function of the Pro-tem Speakers

According to Article 99 of the Indian constitution, a newly elected member of the Lok Sabha has to take an oath of membership before the President or a person appointed by the president on her behalf.

The proforma of the oath to be taken by the newly elected member is mentioned in the third schedule of the constitution.

The first function of the pro-tem speaker and the three other members is to administer the oath to the newly elected member of the Lok Sabha.
The second function of the pro-tem speaker is to conduct the election of the new speaker and deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha.
The day the newly elected speaker/deputy speaker assumes their office, the office of the pro-tem speaker automatically lapses.

About Bhartruhari Mahtab

Bhartruhari Mahtab represents the Cuttack Lok Sabha constituency of Odisha. He was elected from the Cuttack seat on the Biju Janata Dal ticket six times. However, this time, he switched from the Biju Janata Dal to the Bharatiya Janata Party just before the parliamentary election and was reelected for the seventh time.