Question

What is the meaning of "protem" in the protem speaker?

A. Learned
B. Professional
C. For the time being
D. Expert

Answer 1

The correct answer is c. For the time-being.
Pro-tem is a Latin phrase that describes anything temporarily or “for the time being” in English. Generally, Legislative bodies have one or more pro tempore to carry the duties of the post of presiding officer.

In Indian Constitution, the Speaker of the last Lok Sabha has to vacate nhis office immediately before the occurrence of the first meeting of the newly- elected Lok Sabha. Therefore, the President generally appoints a member of the Lok Sabha to act as the Speaker Pro-tem .

The seniormost member is selected for this post. The President himself administers oath to the Speaker Pro Tem. He presides over the first sitting of the Lok Sabha and it's his duty to administer oath to the new members.

Hope it helps

Answer 2

Pro tem is the contracted form of the Latin phrase to ‘pro tempore’ which means ‘for the time being’ (Option.C) or ‘for a temporary period or temporarily’.

It refers to the position of a person who is occupying a post temporarily for time being, like a pro tem president, pro tem speaker, pro tem judge etc who are carrying out their roles in the absence of the elected members respectively.  

A pro tem speaker is the one who conducts the Lok Sabha or the state legislative assemblies before the election of the speaker.