Manohar Joshi suceeded Balayaogi as Speaker of the thirteenth Lok Sabha. On May 10, 2002, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself moved the motion seeking the election of Joshi as the new Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Manohar Joshi was Speaker from May 10, 2002 till June 2, 2004.

Joshi displayed a unique approach to parliamentary reforms. He stated that frequent forced adjournments, besides leading to wastage of the precious time of the House, tended to lower its dignity. He emphasised the need to take up more Starred Questions for oral answers in the House. He also facilitated a more purposeful `Zero Hour' by allowing members to raise only matters of emergent national and international importance.

He emphasised that matters relating to individual constituencies could be raised by members under Rule 377 so that there could be a more positive and meaningful utilisation of the `Zero Hour'.