Statutory post of Dy Speaker vacant for nearly two years

Srinagar, Aug 15: On September 21, the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly will convene for its sixth session, but the key statutory post of Deputy Speaker remains vacant, with the ruling National Conference showing no inclination to fill the position.
Legally, the Deputy Speaker is the Assembly’s second-in-command, stepping in whenever the Speaker is absent or the post is vacant. As per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the Assembly is required to elect both a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker “as soon as may be.” Section 19 of the Act states: “The Legislative Assembly shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the Assembly to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the Assembly shall choose another member to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker, as the case may be.”
Soon after the formation of the elected government, the post of Speaker was filled during the first session, with Abdul Rahim elected unanimously after the BJP decided not to contest.
However, the post of Deputy Speaker has remained vacant for nearly two years. The elected government will complete two years in office on October 16, yet no move has been made to fill the position.
The ruling National Conference has not made any effort to fill the post of Deputy Speaker, which the ruling party has traditionally given to the largest opposition party. The largest opposition party happens to be the BJP in the House.
During the PDP-BJP government, Nazir Gurezi of the National Conference served as Deputy Speaker, while Sartaj Madni of PDP held the post during the NC-Congress rule.
According to sources, the National Conference is reluctant to offer the post of Deputy Speaker to the BJP, while the latter has also not pressed its claim for the position with the ruling party.
The issue of the vacant Deputy Speaker’s post has not been raised even once in the House over the past two years, neither by the treasury benches nor by the opposition.
As per the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the House, the election of the Deputy Speaker is conducted under the supervision of the Speaker. The Speaker fixes the date for the election. (KNO)