Speakers of Kerala

Term – 5 years
Speaker – A. N. Shamseer
Deputy Speaker –  Chittayam Gopakumar

The speaker acts as the principal spokesperson of the State Legislative Assembly. The proceedings of the Assembly are controlled by the Speaker. According to Article 178 of the Indian Constitution every Legislative Assembly of a State shall choose one of its Members as Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

In the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker controls the House. In the absence of both, the House will be governed by a person from the Panel of Chairman. Communications from the Governor to the Assembly are conveyed through the Speaker and vice-versa.

Basic Facts

  • Chairman of the Kerala Legislative Assembly – Speaker.
  • First Elected Speaker in India – L.M. Pylee (Cochin Legislative Assembly, 1947).
  • First Speaker of the Kerala – Sankara Narayanan Thampi (CPI, 1957).
  • First pro-term Speaker of the Kerala Assembly – Rosamma Punnouse.
    • First member of the legislative Assembly – Rosamma Punnouse.
  • First Congress Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly – Alexander Parambithara (1961).
  • First Speaker who completed the term of 5 years – M. Vijayakumar.
    • Longest continuously served speaker – M. Vijayakumar.
  • First Woman acting speaker of Kerala Assembly – Nafeesa Beevi.
  • First Woman to become Deputy Speaker – K.O. Aisha Beevi (1957).
  • First Speaker to use a casting vote in assembly – A.C. Jose.
  • First Speaker to die in Office – K.M. Seethi Sahib.
    • Second – G Karthikeyan
  • Speaker for the longest period – Vakkom Purushothaman.
  • Speaker for the shortest term – A.C. Jose (February-June 1982).
  • Youngest speaker of Kerala – C.H. Muhammad Koya.
    • Speaker who later became Chief Minister of Kerala – C.H. Muhammad Koya.

Powers & Functions of Speaker:

The most important function of the Speaker is to preside over the sessions of the State Legislative Assembly and to maintain order and discipline within the House.
  • The Speaker regulates the debates and other proceedings of the assembly.
  • The Speaker does not take part in the debate and usually does not vote until a tie occurs.
  • When the Assembly meets, the Speaker maintains order and discipline in the house.
  • The speaker then proceeds to see whether there is a necessary quorum.
  • He may prorogue or suspend the sitting of the assembly if the necessary quorum is not met, or to restore discipline.
  • The speaker can suspend or expel members of the assembly for unruly behavior.
    • R. Balakrishna Pillai expelled by then speaker Varkala Radhakrishnan (The first person to be expelled by a speaker due to Anti-defection Law as per the 10th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, 2010)
    • The other person who was disqualified by the speaker N. Sakthan is Rebel Kerala Congress (M) leader PC George in 2015.
  • The Speaker decides the admissibility of questions, resolutions, and motions as per the guiding principles laid down in the Rules.
  • The consent of the Speaker is necessary for the presentation of petitions in the State Assembly.
  • The speaker who decides whether a bill is a money bill or not and it requires Speaker’s certificate to clarify that is a money bill.
  • The Speaker’s decision cannot be challenged in a Court of Law.
The salary of the Speaker is charged on the Consolidated Fund of the State.

Termination & Dismissal:

A speaker may be removed from office in two ways:
  1. By a resolution of the Assembly passed by a majority of all the members of the Assembly after 14 days’ notice of the intention to move such a resolution.
    • Such a move made was by UDF against Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan in August 2020.
  2. The Speaker may resign from office on his own volition.
Otherwise, the speaker may continue in his office after the dissolution of the Assembly until before the first sitting of the next Assembly after the dissolution.

List of Speakers of Kerala

NAMEPERIOD
R. Sankaranarayanan Thampi

April 27, 1957 – July 31, 1959

K.M. Seethi SahibMarch 12, 1960 – April 17, 1961
C.H. Mohammed KoyaJune 9, 1961 – November 10, 1961
Alexander ParambitharaDecember 13,1961 – September 10,1964
D. Damodaran PottiMarch 15, 1967 – October 21, 1970
K. Moideenkutty HajiOctober 22, 1970 – May 8, 1975
T.S. JohnFebruary 17, 1976 – March 25, 1977
Chakkeeri AhmedkuttyMarch 28, 1977 – February 14, 1980
A.P. KurianFebruary 15, 1980 – February 1, 1982
A.C. JoseFebruary 3, 1982 – June 23, 1982
Vakkom B. PurushothamanJune 24, 1982 – December 28, 1984
V.M. SudheeranMarch 8, 1985 – March 27, 1987
Varkala RadhakrishnanMarch 30, 1987 – June 28, 1991
P.P. ThankachanJuly 1, 1991 – May 3, 1995
Therambil RamakrishnanJune 27, 1995 – May 28, 1996
M. VijayakumarMay 30, 1996 – June 4, 2001
Vakkom PurushothamanJune 6, 2001 – September 4, 2004
Therambil RamakrishnanSeptember 16, 2004 – May 24, 2006
K. RadhakrishnanMay 25, 2006 – May 31, 2011
G. KarthikeyanJune 02, 2011 – March 07, 2015
N. SakthanMarch 12, 2015 – June 01, 2016
P. SreeramakrishnanJune 3, 2016 – May 23, 2021
M. B. RajeshMay 25, 2021 –  September 2, 2022
A. N. ShamseerSeptember 6, 2022 – Incumbent


📝SideNotes:

  • Unicameral – State Legislature which has only one House.
  • Bicameral – State Legislature which has two houses, the upper house Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) & the lower house Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha).
    • Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana & Uttar Pradesh
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