- may at any time resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Head of the State and may be removed from his office by a resolution of the House passed by a majority of all the then Members of the House, but no resolution for the purpose of this sub-para should be moved unless at least fourteen days' notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution.
- (iii) While the office of the Chairman is vacant, the duties of the office should be performed by the Deputy Chairman, or if the office of the Deputy Chairman is also vacant, by such Member of the House as the Head of the State may appoint for the purpose. During the absence of the Chairman from any sitting of the House, the Deputy Chairman or, if he is also absent, such person as may be determined by the rules of procedure of the House, or if no such person also is present, such other person as may be determined by the House should act as Chairman.
- (iv) The same rule should apply mutatis mutandis to the office of the Deputy Chairman. While acting as Chairman of the House concerned, the Deputy Chairman should exercise similar powers as the Presiding Officer. There should also be provision for the delegation of powers by the Chairman to the Deputy Chairman or to the person who acts as Chairman of the meeting in the absence of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman.
- (v) In joint sessions the Chairman of the House of Units should preside. In his absence the Chairman of the House of people should preside and in case both of them are absent, such other person as may be determined by rules should preside.
42. The Secretariat of the Central Legislature
The Committee unanimously held the view that the Secretariat of each of the Houses of the Central Legislature should be absolutely independent and should be under the House as such. Also there was unanimity on the point that the Finance Committee of each House should scrutinize all the financial proposals relating to the expenditure of its respective House and thereafter the Budget should be presented to the House.
The Chairman of each House should be the Chairman and the Finance Minister as ex officio Member of its Finance Committee; the Finance Committee of each House should exercise similar power of control and direction in matters relating to the finances of each House of the Central Legislature as are exercised by the Standing Finance Committee with regard to Government expenditure.
In view of the special nature of the work rules should be framed by the Finance Committee to secure to itself closer contact and effective voice in regulating the finances of the House to which it relates.
43. Oath to Members: Failure or Refusal to take Oath
The Members of the Central Legislature should be required to take an oath of allegiance. No Member should take his seat in the House as long as he has not taken the
