The appointment of BJP MLA Kalidas Kolambkar as pro-tem speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly, has, once again, brought to fore the scant regard for tradition in making such appointments.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari appointed the Wadala MLA as the pro-tem speaker on Tuesday. Kolambkar was one of the candidates recommended for the post to the governor.
If tradition was followed in Maharashtra, state Congress president and eight-time MLA Balasaheb Thorat would have been the pro-tem speaker.
How is a pro-tem speaker appointed?
The appointment of the pro-tem speaker is a grey area, since the Constitution does not mention the roles, functions and responsibilities of the pro-tem speaker. Traditionally, the seniormost member of the assembly is appointed the pro-tem speaker by the governor. The pro-tem speaker's office ceases to exist after he administers the oath to the newly-elected lawmakers and conducts the election of a permanent speaker. The speaker then conducts the floor test. In the case of Maharashtra, however, Supreme Court had ordered the pro-tem speaker to conduct floor test.
Will Kolambkar's appointment help the BJP?
But, with chief minister of four days, Devendra Fadnavis, resigning along with the deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar ahead of the floor test tomorrow, Kolambkar's appointment might, after all, just be BJP's last attempt at one-upmanship.
Also, since Ajit Pawar has been removed as the NCP legislature party chief, he can no longer issue a whip to his party members in the assembly.
Has this happened in the past?
It is not the first time that tradition has been disregarded. Earlier this year, after the Lok Sabha elections, seven-time BJP MP Virendra Kumar was appointed the pro-tem speaker of the lower house, though fellow BJP MP Maneka Gandhi, an eight-time MP, was the seniormost member.
Last year, during the power struggle in Karnataka between the BJP and the Congress-JDS combine, Governor Vajubhai Bala appointed K.G. Bopaiah as the pro-tem speaker. The Virajpet MLA was not the seniormost member in the assembly—it was eight-time Congress MLA R.V. Deshpandey. The Congress had vehemently objected to the appointment. Incidentally, in 2008, Bopaiah had disqualified 16 MLAs as pro-tem speaker, handing a lifeline to B.S. Yediyurappa-led BJP government then.
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In 2017, Goa Governor Mridula Sinha appointed two-time Panaji BJP MLA Sidharth Kunkolienkar as pro-tem speaker. Earlier that day, Manohar Parrikar had taken oath as the chief minister. Congress had protested against Kunkolienkar's appointment, questioning his neutrality, as he had served as a political assistant and joint secretary to Parrikar when he was the Goa chief minister from 2012-2014.
A similar pattern was seen in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, too. In Arunachal, this year, BJP MLA from Changlang South assembly constituency Phosum Khimhun, who was only one of the senior members, was made the pro-tem speaker. In Manipur, in 2017, BJP MLA V. Hangkhalian was appointed.
What next?
Maharashtra Governor Koshyari, who was criticised for administering oath to Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar on November 23 in a hush-hush manner, has called a special session of the legislative assembly on Wednesday where floor test will be conducted after pro-tem speaker administers oath to the 288 newly-elected members.
The oath will be administered by Kolambkar.
