Lord Paul favours unopposed election of Speaker in LS polls

Suggesting adoption of a British Parliamentary convention, Lord Swraj Paul today advocated that no political party should field a candidate against Lok Sabha Speaker in India as well during the general elections.
Paul said here that "a system of re-electing the person unopposed would add more gravitas and stateliness to the office of Speaker in the Lok Sabha".
"Our Parliamentary Speaker has to fight the election on his or her party's ticket. This creates a little difficult situation, because a Speaker has to be impartial and independent," he said, while urging India to adopt the British convention of no major political party fielding any candidate against Speaker in general elections.

In the UK, the Speaker has to stand in general elections, but is unopposed by the major political parties by convention.
During the general elections, the Speaker does not campaign on any political issues, but simply stands as 'the Speaker seeking re-election'.
In comparison, Lok Sabha speaker in India needs to again fight the general elections like any other person and face candidates from various parties.

For example, the current Speaker Meira Kumar, who fought last Lok Sabha polls as a Congress party candidate, would have to again face candidates from various parties if she fights the next general elections.

"I think a better system is that of the British Parliament, where, if a Speaker wants to continue in the role, then their seat is not normally contested by any opposition. The Speaker is then re-elected. Of course, they continue to remain independent of party politics for however long they remain in office," Paul said.
In the UK, the speaker is the highest authority in the House of Commons. After election, the speaker resigns from the political party and remains separate from political issues even in retirement.
A renowned NRI industrialist, Paul heads the London-headquartered Caparo group, which is present in a number of countries, including India and the UK, and has a global turnover of over Rs 10,000 crore.