Who was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha?

The correct answer is 79. Article 79 says: "There shall be a Parliament for the Union which shall consist of the President and two Houses to be known respectively as the Council of States and the House of the People." The President is therefore part of Parliament even though he or she sits in neither House, because no bill passed by the two Houses can become law without the President's assent, and it is the President who summons and prorogues the Houses.

The other options are nearby Articles on other subjects. Article 70 deals with the discharge of the President's functions in other contingencies. Article 73 sets out the extent of the executive power of the Union. Article 82 provides for the readjustment of seats after each census. The chapter on Parliament runs from Article 79 to Article 122, so remember 79 as its opening Article, followed by 80 (Rajya Sabha) and 81 (Lok Sabha).

The correct answer is twelve. Under Article 80, the Rajya Sabha consists of 12 members nominated by the President and not more than 238 representatives of the States and Union Territories, a maximum of 250. The nominated members are chosen for their special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service; Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar and the composer Ilaiyaraaja are among those nominated over the years.

The wrong numbers have no basis in the Constitution. Remember too the contrast with the Lok Sabha: the President could once nominate two Anglo-Indian members to it under Article 331, but that provision lapsed in January 2020 after the 104th Amendment did not extend it. So today the President nominates members only to the Rajya Sabha. Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha can vote in the election of the Vice-President but not in the election of the President, a point examiners often combine with this one.

The correct answer is President. After a general election, the Speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha vacates office just before the new House first meets. To bridge the gap, the President appoints a member of the new Lok Sabha, usually the senior-most, as Speaker pro tem. The President administers the oath to the pro tem Speaker, who then presides over the first sitting, administers the oath to the newly elected members and conducts the election of the new Speaker. The office ends as soon as the Speaker is elected.

The Prime Minister does not appoint the pro tem Speaker; in practice the government suggests a name, but the appointment is the President's. The Chief Justice of India administers the oath to the President, not to members of the Lok Sabha, and has no role here. The Chief Election Commissioner conducts the general election but has nothing to do with the House once it is constituted. "Pro tem" is Latin for "for the time being", which describes the office exactly.

The correct answer is 6 months. Article 85(1) says the President shall summon each House to meet at such time and place as he or she thinks fit, but six months shall not intervene between its last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session. So Parliament must meet at least twice a year. In practice it holds three sessions: the Budget session (February to May), the Monsoon session (July to September) and the Winter session (November to December).

The other options mix this rule up with other time limits. Three months has no basis, one year would allow Parliament to go an entire year without meeting, and nine months is invented. The six-month rule also explains the maximum life of an ordinance: because Parliament must reassemble within six months, and an ordinance lapses six weeks after reassembly, no ordinance can last longer than six months and six weeks. Note that the rule is about the gap between sessions, not about the length of a session.

The correct answer is One-tenth. Under Article 100(3), the quorum to constitute a meeting of either House of Parliament is one-tenth of the total number of members of the House, including the Speaker or the person acting as presiding officer. In the 543-member Lok Sabha that means about 55 members must be present. If there is no quorum, the presiding officer must adjourn the House or suspend the meeting until there is one.

The other fractions belong to other rules. One-half, that is a simple majority, is how ordinary decisions are taken. Two-thirds is part of the special majority needed for constitutional amendments, for approving a National Emergency and for removing judges. One-sixth has no role at all. The same one-tenth figure turns up elsewhere too, which makes it easy to remember: a party needs one-tenth of the seats for its leader to be recognised as Leader of the Opposition, and one-tenth of the Lok Sabha's members can demand a special sitting to disapprove an emergency.