President Droupadi Murmu appointed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro-tem Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha.
- Mahtab was appointed as protem Speaker by President Murmu under Article 95(1) of the Constitution to perform the duties of the Lok Sabha presiding officer till the election of the Speaker. Being the Presiding Officer of the Lok Sabha, the Speaker has to fulfil certain key duties related to its day-to-day proceedings.
- Article 94 of the Indian Constitution states: Whenever the House of the People is dissolved, the Speaker shall not vacate his office until immediately before the first meeting of the House of the People after the dissolution.
- In the new Lok Sabha, the Speaker of the House is decided by a simple majority. Until her selection, the pro-tem Speaker is chosen to administer some important duties.
- Pro-tem’ essentially means ‘for the time being’ or ‘temporarily’. The Constitution does not mention the post. However, the official ‘Handbook on the Working of Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs’ speaks about the ‘Appointment and Swearing in of Speaker pro-tem’.
- The handbook states when the Speaker post falls vacant before a new Lok Sabha, the duties of the Speaker are to be performed by a Member of the House appointed for this purpose by the President as Speaker pro tem.
- The senior-most members of the Lok Sabha, in terms of their years of membership, are typically chosen to assist the pro tem Speaker.
- Administering oaths to the new MPs is the pro-tem Speaker’s primary duty. Under Article 99 of the Constitution.
- The Speaker pro-tem then administers the oath/affirmation to the newly elected members with the help of the other three members.
