The President of India, Draupadi Murmu has appointed Cuttack MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as the pro tem speaker of the newly elected Lok Sabha. She also appointed Suresh Kodikunnil, Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu, Radha Mohan Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Sudip Bandyopadhyay to support Mahtab in his duties as pro tem speaker. Mahtab will administer the oath to newly elected MPs and will discharge the duties of the Speaker till the appointment of an MP as Speaker. In the first session of the Lok Sabha, the Speaker will be elected.
Bhartruhari Mahtab, 66, is a seven-time MP from Cuttack Odisha. He was previously associated with Biju Janta Dal (BJD) but before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections he joined the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and is now a BJP MP.
About Pro tem speaker
- Pro tem speaker is appointed by the president under Article 95(1) of the Indian Constitution, which is about appointing a pro-tem Speaker for a short duration to preside over the Lok Sabh’s proceedings after the General Elections. He is a temporary presiding officer of the house.
- In general, the senior most member of the house is appointed pro tem speaker. In the 18th Lok Sabha, Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress and Virendra Kumar of BJP are the senior most members who are serving their 8th term.
- The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs or the Prime Minister approves a name from a list of prospective candidates suggested by the Legislative Department for the pro tem Speaker.
- Pro tem Speaker also takes oath, administered by the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan on the morning of the first session of the new Lok Sabha. The session begins at 11 AM, so the oath is administered to the Speaker at 9:30 AM.
- The primary responsibility of the pro tem Speaker includes administering oaths to newly elected MPs and conducting the election of the new Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
- For the state assembly, the respective Governor appoints a pro tem speaker.
- The term pro tem speaker has not been mentioned in the constitution. It has been mentioned in the ‘Handbook on the Working of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs’.
