Speaker of AP

The Speaker

The Office of the Speaker of Legislative Assembly is a constitutional one. Under Article 178 of the Indian Constitution every Legislative Assembly of a State shall, choose one of its Members as Speaker. Detailed procedure regarding the Election of the Speaker is prescribed in Rule 7, 8 and 9 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

The powers and duties of the Speaker have been laid down in the rules of the Legislative Assembly and to some extent in the Constitution. The Speaker is the principal spokesman of the House. He represents its collective voice and is its sole representative to the world. Communications from the Governor to the House are made through the Speaker. Similarly communications to the Governor are made through the Speaker in the form of a formal address after a motion has been made and carried by the House.

As the representative of the House, the Speaker communicates the decisions of the House to the authorities concerned, requiring them to comply with the terms of such decisions. Similarly, he communicates to the House letters and documents addressed to him. He also issues warrants to execute the orders of the House, where necessary.

The Speaker regulates the debates and proceedings of the House. He determines the order of the Government and other Business in the House. He has the power to recognize parties and groups in the House. The Speaker decides the admissibility of Questions as per the guiding principles laid down in the Rules. The Speaker decides on the admissibility of resolutions and motions. The consent of the Speaker is necessary for the presentation of petitions to the House.

It is the Speaker who determines what matters are ‘money' matters as these fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Legislative Assembly. If the Speaker certifies a Bill as a Money Bill, his decision is final. Under the Constitution, the Speaker exercises only a casting vote in the case of equality of votes in any matter.

The Speaker holds the Office from the date of his election till immediately before the first meeting of the Legislative Assembly after the dissolution of the one to which he was elected, unless he ceases to be a member by any of the reasons specified in Article 179 of the Indian Constitution.

Honourable Speaker - Mr. Nadendla Manohar

Mr. Nadendla Manohar was elected as the Speaker in June 2011. He was elected as the Member of Legislative Assembly from Tenali Constituency of Guntur District in Andhra Pradesh in 2004 and 2009 General elections.

An Economics Graduate from Nizam College, Hyderabad, Mr.Manohar holds an MBA Degree with specialization in Marketing from Osmania University, Hyderabad.

Prior to his election as the Hon'ble Speaker, he has served as the Deputy Speaker of the A.P. Legislative Assembly and has also chaired important Committees including the House Committee, which probed the functioning of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (Primary School Education) in Andhra Pradesh.

He has served the Congress Party in various capacities. Earlier, as the General Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee, he focused on developing NSUI and Youth Congress in A.P.

As Chairman of the Assembly Library Committee, he showed keen interest in digitizing all the A.P. Legislative Assembly debates from the year 1952 onwards, which included approximately three lakh pages.

Realizing the need to empower Legislators, he has embarked on a mission to improve the I.T. infrastructure in the Legislative Assembly. He had not only provided Laptop Computers and hand held Tablets to the Hon'ble Members, but also brought in Wi-Fi connectivity in the Assembly.

Mr. Manohar was a nationally ranked Tennis player. He has participated in several tournaments in the country and abroad. He was Bronze Medallist in the National Games, 1986.

Apart from focusing on conservation of wild life and improving the life of the rural poor, he has attended several Commonwealth Parliamentary Conferences and spoke on critical issues like the need to have more transparency and accountability in Legislatures.