The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin on 24 June. In this session which will run till 3 July, the newly elected MPs will take oath and the new Speaker will also be elected. Actually, when the old Lok Sabha is dissolved, the Speaker also resigns from his post. When the new House meets after the election, the Speaker is needed for some important tasks.

To fulfil this need, an interim or temporary speaker is appointed, who is called the pro-tem speaker. Pro-tem is a Latin word which means – for the time being. BJP MP from Cuttack, Odisha, Bhartruhari Mahtab has become the pro-tem speaker in the 18th Lok Sabha. In such a situation, let us know what is the importance of this post, and how is it elected?

There is hardly any doubt that the most important post in the lower house of Parliament is that of the Lok Sabha Speaker. He is responsible for the smooth functioning of the House and maintaining order. If MPs create a ruckus or misbehave in the House, the Speaker has the power to adjourn the ongoing proceedings. The Speaker also takes the final decision regarding rules and procedures.

But after the dissolution of the old Lok Sabha, the Speaker has to resign just before the first meeting of the new House. According to Article 94 of the Constitution, “Whenever the House of the People is dissolved, the Speaker thereof shall not vacate his office until just before the first meeting of the new House of the People after the dissolution.” The Speaker for the new Lok Sabha is elected by a simple majority. But until his election, a pro-tem Speaker is elected to perform some important duties.

An elected pro-tem speaker has many important tasks. For example, he presides over the first meeting of the new Lok Sabha. Apart from this, whether it is administering the oath of office to the newly elected MPs, inviting the government for a floor test to prove majority in the House or conducting voting for the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, all these tasks are performed by the pro-tem speaker.

Although the post of pro-tem speaker is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution, it is definitely mentioned in the official booklet of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs based on its functioning. The booklet states, “When the post of the Speaker becomes vacant before the formation of the new Lok Sabha, his duties will be discharged by a member of the House. For this work, he will be appointed as the temporary Speaker by the President.”

However, when a new Speaker of the House is elected, the post of Pro-tem Speaker ceases to exist. Generally, the most senior member of the House (who has spent the most years in the House) is elected for the post of Pro-tem Speaker. Apart from this, three other MPs are also elected to assist the Pro-tem Speaker. The three MPs are also elected on the basis of seniority.

Last time (in 2019), Virendra Kumar, a seven-time MP from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh, was elected Pro-tem Speaker. This time, the name of BJP MP Bhartrihari Mahtab has been announced as the Pro-tem Speaker. According to news agency PTI, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that Bhartrihari Mahtab, a seven-time MP, has been appointed Pro-tem Speaker.

Apart from this, a panel of chairpersons will also be formed to assist him. This panel will include Congress leader K Suresh, DMK leader TR Balu, BJP MPs Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste and TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay.

Mahtab won the general election from Cuttack in Odisha by 57,077 votes. He defeated Santarup Mishra of BJD (Biju Janata Dal). President Draupadi Murmu has appointed BJP member from Cuttack Bhartruhari Mahtab as the temporary Speaker under Article 95 (1) of the Constitution. He will discharge the duties of the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha till the election of the Lok Sabha Speaker. Before this Lok Sabha election, Mahtab left the BJD and joined the BJP.

However, as soon as a new government is formed, the Legislative Department of the Government of India prepares a list of the senior-most members of the Lok Sabha. This is then sent to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs or the Prime Minister to select the Pro-tem Speaker and three other members to be sworn in. Once the Prime Minister approves this, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs usually obtains the consent of these members through telephone.

After getting the consent, they submit a note to the President in which approval is sought from him for the appointment of the pro-tem speaker and the three members. During this time they also decide the date and time of the oath taking ceremony. When the approval is received from the President, the Parliamentary Ministry informs the three members besides the pro-tem speaker about their appointments.

Now the point to note here is that the President administers the oath to the Pro-tem Speaker in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Whereas the three other members elected along with the Pro-tem Speaker are sworn in in the Lok Sabha. Here the Pro-tem Speaker administers the oath to them. Once all of them are sworn in, the Pro-tem Speaker, with the help of the other three members, administers the oath to the newly elected MPs.