62 sittings, no deputy speaker of Lok Sabha; govt sets another dubious record, says TMC

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) hit out at the government on Wednesday over its "dubious record" of keeping the Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker's seat vacant for 62 sittings of the Lower House of Parliament.

In a video, TMC's national spokesperson and its leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien said the average time taken to fill the post was 22 sittings of the House.

"Deputy Speaker in Lok Sabha still not elected. In 70 year history, average time taken to fill post is 22nd sitting of House. Longest time ever taken was 12th LS: 59th day.

Mo-Sh (Modi-Shah) set dubious record. 62 sittings gone. Still no Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker," he said in a tweet.

Articles 93 to 97 of the Constitution deal with the post of Lok Sabha speaker and deputy speaker. Article 93 makes it obligatory upon the Lok Sabha to appoint a speaker and deputy speaker to conduct the House proceedings.

It states: "The House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the House shall choose another member to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker, as the case may be.

However, the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha has not been appointed as yet. Otherwise, the post used to be filled soon after the appointment of the speaker in the previous Lok Sabhas.