The head of the family is like a lamp of guidance. The one who guides the house in matters of its good and bad. Most importantly She/he is an individual who upholds the dignity of the family. The position of Speaker’ (Article 93) in a parliamentary system of government is similar to the position of ‘head of the family.’ Speaker holds the constitutional position in the house. A significant power of casting vote in case of tie is in the hands of the speaker. A position which is dignified and respected at every stage of parliamentary sessions.
The house chooses the Speaker from a ruling party. But it is clearly envisaged that the speaker of the house should be impartial and will not belong to any party from the time the position is coronated. There are certain instances in the history where in, an impartial office was turned partial and came under the scrutiny of contempt of court. In a recent day of the week, Speaker of Karnataka State Legislative Assembly too uttered a statement giving an impression of undignified impartial outlook from the part of a honoured position.
The Speaker of the House of Karnataka Assembly expressed his orientation towards a particular extremist organisation with his words while addressing the members of opposition. He asked why are you feeling troubled about our xyz (name of the organisation)?” When a member of Opposition raised the question of dignity of chair and orientation of the speaker, the speaker further stressed saying: if not today someday in the future, even you will term the organisation as “Ours” definitely.
In a democratic country like India, the intolerance towards decent and an address indicating the dominance of a particular organisation or sector is devastating terror. A tremor of “Will the united India continue to remain a democratic nation or turn out to be a Oceania of George Orwell’s 1984” makes its way on rational minds.
Indian parliamentary chain of pearl is weaved in such a way that, a Speaker of the house will and should automatically belong to no party as soon as they ascend the position. Maintaining impartial leadership is the significant motive here. We have the examples like that of Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, who resigned the party when ascending the position of speaker Jawaharlal Nehru articulating the role of speaker, said: The Speaker represents the dignity of the House, the Speaker becomes symbol of the nation’s freedom and liberty. Therefore, that should be an honoured position. A free position and should be occupied always by persons of outstanding ability and impartiality.”
If a head of the family determines the development of the house. The foresight towards a moulding of a nation ignites in its parliament. And so should be the responsibility of the presiding officers of the house, the motive towards protecting the integrity of India and maintaining the dignity of the office through impartial and unbiased administration.
Image by Vivek Chugh
