Srinagar, Aug. 15 -- Srinagar- On September 21, the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly will convene for its sixth session, but the key statutory post of Deputy Speaker remains vacant, with the ruling National Conference showing no inclination to fill the position.

Legally, the Deputy Speaker is the Assembly's second-in-command, stepping in whenever the Speaker is absent or the post is vacant. As per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the Assembly is required to elect both a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker "as soon as may be." Section 19 of the Act states: "The Legislative Assembly shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the Assembly to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof and, so often as the office of...