VerifiedWho is the Lok Sabha Speaker?
The presiding officer of the Lok Sabha is known as the Lok Sabha speakers. Lok Sabha is the House of the People and it is also known as the lower house of the Parliament of India. There have been 16 people who have served as the Lok Sabha speaker. The first-ever Lok Sabha speaker was Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar. In Article 79 of the Indian Constitution, it is written that there should be a Parliament for the Union. This should comprise the President and two houses of Rajya Sabha, which is the council of states and the Lok Sabha, which is the House of the people.
When is the Speaker Selected?
In the very first meeting of the Lok Sabha election, the Lok Sabha speaker is elected. They serve in the House of People for five years. The candidates for the position of the speaker are among the sitting people of Lok Sabha. However, as per the tradition ,the position is given to the member of the ruling party.
Who have been the Speakers till Date?
Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar served as the speaker from 15th May 1952 to 27th February 1956.
The second speaker was M.A. Ayyangar from 8th March 1956 to 10th May 1957. He continued to be the speaker from 11th May 1957 to 16th April 1962.
The third speaker was Sardar Hukam Singh who served as the speaker from 17th April 1962 to 16th March 1967.
The fourth speaker was Neelam Sanjiva Reddy who served from 17th March 1967 to 19th July 1971.
The fifth was Gurdial Singh Dhillion serving as the speaker of Lok Sabha from 8th August 1969 to 19th March 1971 and continuing his position from 22nd March 1971 to 1st December 1975.
The sixth speaker was Bali Ram Bhagat who served from 15th January 1976 to 25th March 1977.
After him, Neelam Sanjiva was again elected as the speaker serving from 26th March 1977 to 13th July 1977 as the 7th speaker of the House of People.
The 8th speaker was K.S. Hegde served from 21st July 1977 to 21st January 1980.
The 9th speaker was Balram Jakhar who served from the year 1980 22nd January to 1985 15th January. He again continued to be the speaker from 16th January 1985 to 18th December 1989.
The 10th speaker of the House of People was Rabi Ray who served from 19th December 1989 to 9th July 1991.
The 11th speaker was Shivraj Patil serving as the speaker of Lok Sabha from 10th July 1991 to 22nd May 1996.
Next, the 12th speaker was P. A Sangma serving from the year 1996 23rd May to 23rd March 1998.
After that G.M.C. Balayogi continued to be the 12th speaker of Lok Sabha and served from 24th March 1998 to 19th October 1999. He then continued from the year 1999 22nd October to 3rd March 2002.
The 13th Speaker was Manohar Joshi who served from the year 10th May 2002 to 2nd June 2004.
The 14th speaker was Somnath Chatterjee serving from 4th June 2004 to 30th May 2009.
The 15th speaker was Meira Kumar serving from 30th May 2009 to 4th June 2014.
The 16th speaker was Sumitra Mahajan serving from 6th June 2014 to 16th June 2019.
The 17th speaker and the last speaker to date is Om Birla.
The duties of the speaker in facilitating the proper functioning of the Lok Sabha is immense. He conducts the business in the House and is entitled to the duty of deciding whether a bill is a money bill or not. He can also punish or even suspend a member for his unruly behaviour inside the House.
