- The Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly administered the oath to two newly-elected Trinamool Congress MLAs, despite the Governor’s directive assigning the Deputy Speaker for the task, resulting in a controversy.
- Article 188 of the Constitution of India empowers the Governor of a state to appoint a person before whom a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) or Legislative Council (MLC) must take an oath or affirmation before assuming their duties.
Pro-tem Speaker
- A Pro-tem speaker temporarily presides over the first meeting of a newly constituted Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly.
- Selection: By convention, the senior most member (by membership, not age) is chosen.
- Duties: Administers the oath of office to new members.
- Enables the House to elect a new speaker.
- Manages House tasks if both the speaker and deputy speaker posts are vacant.
- Administers the floor test.
- Similar Provision for Lok Sabha MPs under Article 99 stipulates that every member of Parliament (MP) must make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation before taking their seat in the Lok Sabha (House of the People) or the Rajya Sabha (Council of States).
- The President of India appoints a person to administer this oath, typically the Protem Speaker or another designated official.
- Recently Lok Sabha Speaker has amended the oath-taking rules for Members of Parliament, prohibiting additional remarks after instances of members resorting to slogans during the 18th Lok Sabha oaths.
Dig Deeper: Which is the schedule which consists of oath and affirmations?
