Lesson 4 - The Legislature: Parliament
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha or the council of states is a permanent
house. It is also the upper chamber. Rajya Sabha has 250 members out of which
238 are elected from the states and the union territories. 12 members are
nominated by the president of India, having special Knowledge or practical
experience in such matters as literature, science, art and social services etc.
the representatives from union territories are chosen in such a manner as the
Parliament may by law determine.
The representatives from the states are elected by the
members of the Legislative Assemblies of the respective States on the basis of
proportional representative by means of single transferable vote. The member of
the union territories are elected as decided by a law of the parliament. The
membership of Rajya Sabha is not uniform for the states, it is noteworthy that
unlike the United States where the states I have been given equal
representation in the upper house (Senate), the states in India have been given
representation in the Rajya Sabha on the basis of their population.
Presiding officer of Rajya Sabha
The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of
the Rajya Sabha. As the presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha his function and
powers are same as those of the speaker. He is however, not a member of the
House. In addition, the Rajya Sabha elects a member as Deputy Chairman, who
discharges the function of the Chairman in his absence.
Qualifications for Rajya Sabha
The Chairman for the purpose of presiding over Rajya Sabha
in the absence of both the Chairman and Deputy Chairman. The Secretariat of the
Rajya Sabha is headed by a secretary who discharges the same functions as the
Secretary of the Lok Sabha.
Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the qualifications
for membership of Parliament. A person to be qualified for the membership of
the Rajya Sabha should possess the following qualifications:
1. He/she must be a citizen of India and make and subscribe
before some person authorized in that behalf by the Election Commission an oath
or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third
Schedule to the Constitution;
2. He/she must be not less than 30 years of age;
3. He/she must possess such other qualifications as may be
prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament.
Disqualifications
Article 102 of the Constitution lays down that a person
shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either
House of Parliament –
1. If he holds any office of profit under the Government of
India or the Government of any State, other than an office declared by
Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder;
2. If he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a
competent court;
3. If he is an undischarged insolvent;
4. If he is not a
citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign
State, or is under any acknowledgement of allegiance or adherence to a foreign
State;
5. If he is so disqualified by or under any law made by
Parliament.
Duration of Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and is not subject to
dissolution. However, its members are elected for a term of six years and one
third of its members retire after every two years. It may be observed that the
original Constitution did not fix the term of Rajya Sabha members. This was
fixed by the parliament under Representation of people Act, 1951. The term of
the members of the first batch of Rajya Sabha was decided by lottery (as to who
would retire after two years; four years or six years)
Special Powers of Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha being a federal chamber enjoys certain special
powers under the Constitution. All the subjects/areas regarding legislation
have been divided into three Lists - Union List, State List and concurrent
List. Union and State Lists are mutually exclusive - one cannot legislate on a
matter placed in the sphere of the other.
If Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a majority of not less
than two-thirds of the members present and voting declaring that it is
necessary or expedient in the national interest to create one or more All India
Services common to the Union and the States, Parliament becomes empowered to
create by law such services.
Under the Constitution, the President is empowered to issue
Proclamations in the event of national emergency, in the event of failure of
constitutional machinery in a State, or in the case of financial emergency.
Every such proclamation has to be approved by both Houses of Parliament within
a stipulated period. Under certain circumstances, however, Rajya Sabha enjoys
special powers in this regard. If a Proclamation is issued at a time when Lok
Sabha has been dissolved or the dissolution of Lok Sabha takes place within the
period allowed for its approval, then the proclamation remains effective, if
the resolution approving it is passed by Rajya Sabha within the period
specified in the Constitution under articles 352, 356 and 360.
Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha or the House of People is the lower house of the
Indian Parliament and its members are elected directly by the people. “Lok
Sabha is to consist of not more than 550 elected members, 530 members are
elected from the states and 20 members are elected from union territories.
There are two nominated members from the Anglo- Indian community. Thus, the
maximum strength of the house envisaged in the constitution is thus 552.
Presiding officer of Lok Sabha
There shall be a speaker to preside over the House of the
people. In general, his position is similar to that of the speaker of the
English House of Common. The Lok Sabha elects a speaker and a deputy speaker
from amongst its members, who cease to hold their office as soon as they cease
to be members of the Lok Sabha (Art.93). However, when the Lok Sabha dissolved,
the speaker continues in his office until immediately before the first meeting
of the Lok Sabha after its dissolution.
Similarly, the term of the speaker automatically gets
extended if the term of Lok Sabha is extended beyond five years. The speaker
takes part in the proceedings of the house but does exercise his votes except
in case of a tie (Art.96). The speaker will have the final power to maintain
order within the house of the people and to interpret its rules of procedure.
In the absent of the quorum, it will be the duty of the speaker to adjourn the
house or to suspend the meeting until there is a quorum.
Besides presiding over the house, the Speaker possesses
certain powers not belonging to the Chairman of the Council of States
a) The Speaker shall preside over a joint sitting of the two
Houses of the Parliament [Art.118 (4)].
b) When the money
bill is transmitted from the Lower House to the Upper House, the speaker shall
endorse on the bill his certificate that it is a Money Bill [Art. 110 (4)]. The
decision of the speaker as to whether a bill is Money Bill is final and once
the certificate is endorsed by the speaker on a Bill, the subsequent procedure
in the passage of the bill must be governed by the provisions relating to Money
Bills.
Oath
Each Member of Parliament before taking his seat has to make
and subscribe before the president or some person appointed in that behalf by
him, an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose. If a
person seats or votes in the house without taking oath or affirmation, he shall
be liable in respect of each day on which he so sits or votes to a penalty of
five hundred to be recovered as debt due to the union.
Qualifications to become member for Lok Sabha
A person to be eligible for membership of the Lok Sabha must
possess following qualifications.
1. He should be a citizen of India.
2. He must be at least 25 years of age for membership of the
Lok Sabha.
3. He should make and
subscribe an Oath or affirmation according to the prescribed form before the
person authorized by the election commission.
4. He should possess such other qualifications as may be
prescribed by the parliament.
Disqualifications
1. The person should not be holding an office of profit
under central and state government
2. Should not be person of unsound mind.
3. Should not be an
undischarged insolvent
4. Should not have acquired the citizenship of a foreign
state voluntarily
5. Should not be
disqualified under any law made by the parliament.
6. Should not be
guilty of corrupt practice at an election.
7. Should not be
convicted for an offence resulting in imprisonment for two or more years.
8. Should not have
failed to lodge an account for election expenses.
9. Should not have an interest or share in the contract for
supply of goods or in the execution of any work.
10. Should not be a
director or managing agent or hold any office of profit in a corporation.
11. Should not have been dismissed from government service
for corruption or disloyalty to the state.
1.B.A Political Science 1st Lesson Important Notes
2.B.A Political Science 2nd Lesson Important Notes
3. B.A Political Science 3rd Lesson Important Notes
4.B.A Political Science 4th Lesson Important Notes
5. B.A. Political Science 5th Lesson Important Notes
Resignation and removal of the Speaker /Deputy Speaker
The speaker can resign his office any time by submitting a
resignation addressed to the deputy speaker. Similarly, the deputy speaker can
resign from his office by writing to the speaker. The two officers can also be
removed from their office before the expiry of their term through a resolution
of the House of the people passed by a majority of all the then members of the
House. The resolution for the removal of the speaker or Deputy speaker can be
moved only after fourteen days’ notice has been given indicating the intention
to move such a resolution.
Term and Dissolution of the Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha enjoys the term of five years from the date of
its first session. The term of the house was fixed at six-years under the Forty
-second amendment, but it has been reduced to five years by the Forty- Fourth
of the Amendment. After the expiry of this term, the house stands automatically
dissolved. The life of the house can be extended during the proclamation of an
emergency by one year at a time. However, its term comes to an end six months after
the proclamation has ceased to be in operation.
The term of the House can be cut short if president
dissolves it earlier on the advice of the council of Ministers. Under the
constitution, the council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha for all
its actions and stays in office as long as it enjoys the confidence of the
parliament. In case parliament shows lack of confidence in the council of
Ministers, it must either tender resignation or make room for the opposition to
form the Government or advice the president to dissolve the house and order
fresh elections.
It may be observed that after the 42nd amendment, it has
become obligatory for the president to act on the advice of the Council of
Ministers, which implies that he cannot refuse to dissolve the house if the
council of Ministers so recommends.
Relation between the two Houses
Under article 75(3) of the Constitution, the Council of
Ministers is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha which means Rajya Sabha
cannot make or unmake the Government. It can, however, exercise control over
the Government and this function becomes quite prominent, particularly when the
Government does not enjoy majority in Rajya Sabha.
Ministers may belong to either House of Parliament. The
Constitution does not make any distinction between the Houses in this regard.
Every Minister has the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of
either House but he is entitled to vote only in the House of which he is a
member.
Similarly, with regard to powers, privileges and immunities
of the Houses of Parliament, their members and committees thereof, the two
Houses are placed absolutely on equal footing by the Constitution.
It is thus clear that except in the case of collective
responsibility of the Council of Ministers and certain financial matters, which
fall in the domain of Lok Sabha only, both Houses enjoy equal powers.
Sessions of the parliament
Generally, parliament has three sessions each year Budget
Session, Monsoon session and winter session. The constitution vests in the
president the power to summon each house of parliament at such time and place
as he thinks fit. However, he must ensure that the gap between the last sittings
in one session in the next session is not more than six months. The president
can from time to time prorogue either houses or either house of parliament.
Proroguement means that the president can terminate the session.
Quorum
“The quorum means the minimum number of required members to
be present to enable the House for its meeting. In both the Houses, the quorum
is one-tenth of the total number of members of the respective houses”.
Joint session of two Houses of Parliament
The president can convene joint sessions of the two houses
of parliament if a bill passed by one house is rejected by the other house; or
one house disagrees with the amendments proposed by the other house; or in the
case of one house having passed a bill and the other house not passing that
bill for more than six months. In these cases, the president has to notify the
houses by sending a message of his intention to summon them for a joint sitting
for the purpose of deliberation and voting on the bill in dispute. At the joint
sitting of the two houses, the bill is passed by a majority of the total
members of both houses present and voting. The joint sitting of two houses is
presided over by the speaker of the Lok Sabha or by such person as may be
determined by rules or procedure.
4.B.A Political Science Hons. History Lesson 4th Important Notes Part 2
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