Speaker

The is the presiding officer of the lower house of Parliament of India. His role is similar to that of Speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system ofgovernment.

The speaker is elected in the very first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the General elections for a term of 5 years from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha. He is supposed to resign from his original party because as a speaker, he has to remain impartial.

Powers and functions of the Speaker

The Speaker presides over the sessions of the Lok Sabha and conducts the business in the house. He decides whether a bill is a money bill or a non money bill. He maintains discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for his unruly behaviour by suspending him. He permits the moving of various kinds of motions and resolutions like the motion of no confidence, motion of adjournment, motion of censure and calling attention notice. The Speaker decides on the agenda to be taken up for discussion during the meeting. The date of election of speaker is fixed by the President.

[]List of Speakers

Balram Jakhar of the Congress is till date the longest serving speaker, who served for 9 years, 10 months, and 27 days

Number	Name	Term	Party	Coalition in Power
1	G.V. Mavlankar	May 15, 1952 - February 27, 1956	Indian National Congress	INC+
2	M. A. Ayyangar	March 8, 1956 - April 16, 1962	Indian National Congress	INC+
3	Sardar Hukam Singh	April 17, 1962 - March 16, 1967	Indian National Congress	INC+
4	N. Sanjiva Reddy	March 17, 1967 - July 19, 1969	Indian National Congress	INC+
5	G. S. Dhillon	August 8, 1969 - December 1, 1975	Indian National Congress	INC+
6	Bali Ram Bhagat	January 15, 1976 - March 25, 1977	Indian National Congress	INC+
7	N. Sanjiva Reddy	March 26, 1977 - July 13, 1977	Janata Party	JP+
8	K.S. Hegde	July 21, 1977 - January 21, 1980	Janata Party	JP+
9	Balram Jakhar	January 22, 1980 - December 18, 1989	Indian National Congress	INC+
10	Rabi Ray	December 19, 1989 - July 9, 1991	Janata Dal	NF
11	Shivraj Patil	July 10, 1991 - May 22, 1996	Indian National Congress	INC+
12	P.A. Sangma	May 25, 1996 - March 23, 1998	Indian National Congress	UF
12	G.M.C. Balayogi	March 24, 1998 - March 3, 2002	Telugu Desam Party	NDA
13	Manohar Joshi	May 10, 2002 - June 2, 2004	Shiv Sena	NDA
14	Somnath Chatterjee	June 4, 2004 - May 30, 2009	Communist Party of India (Marxist)	UPA
15	Mira Kumar	May 30, 2009 - present	Indian National Congress	UPA