Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to initiate the process of electing a deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, scheduled to begin on July 21.

Sharing the letter on X (formerly Twitter), Kharge said, "My letter to PM Narendra Modi on the urgency to initiate the process of electing a Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha without any further delay."

Kharge underscored that the post of deputy Speaker has historically been filled in every Lok Sabha until recently, and that the absence of such an appointment over two consecutive terms is unprecedented.

"From the First to the Sixteenth Lok Sabha, every House has had a Deputy Speaker. By and large, it has been a well-established convention to appoint the Deputy Speaker from among the members of the principal opposition party," he wrote.

"However, for the first time in independent India's history, this position has remained vacant for two consecutive Lok Sabha terms. No Deputy Speaker was elected during the Seventeenth Lok Sabha, and this concerning precedent continues in the ongoing Eighteenth Lok Sabha."

Kharge further warned that this trend reflects poorly on the state of India's democratic institutions.

"This does not augur well for India's democratic polity and is also in violation of well laid out provisions of the Constitution."

Citing Article 93 of the Constitution of India, Kharge wrote: "As maybe seen in regard to the election of the Deputy Speaker, Article 93 stipulates that the House shall choose one "as soon as may be." Traditionally, the Deputy Speaker has been elected in the second or third session of a newly constituted Lok Sabha. The procedure for this election mirrors that of the Speaker, with the only distinction being that the date for the Deputy Speaker's election is fixed by the Speaker, as per Rule 8(1) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha."

With this communication, Kharge has drawn renewed attention to a constitutional omission that has been criticised by both Opposition parties and constitutional experts.