sign in sign up
<<
Home , Concurrent List, Rajya Sabha, State List, Union List

INDIAN CONSTITUTION AT WORK

Ch 5-

The term refers to national legislature. Indeed a genuine democracy is inconceivable without a representative, efficient and effective legislature.

WHY DO WE NEED A PARLIAMENT?

 We need Parliament for making.  It is required to formulate rules and regulations for the of the public.  It is a forum where ministers get together, debate, discuss and question the work done by them.  Parliament holds the representatives accountable.

WHY IS THE IMPORTANCE OF PARLIAMENT DECLINING?

 There have been frequent walkouts, dharnas, protests and no parliamentary work is done on time.  In , cabinet initiate policies, sets the agenda for governance and carries them through.

HOW IS CABINET RESPONSIBLE TO THE LEGISLATURE?

 Cabinet requires the majority in Parliament to sustain themselves, therefore it reflects democracy in our Parliament.  Because of its composition, it is the most representative of all organs of government and it is powerful also, as it can choose or dismiss government if the government looses the majority.

BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE

 A bicameral legislature is one where there are two houses of the legislature. In India two houses are called i.e. Council of States and i.e. House of People.  States have the option to remain either unicameral or become bicameral. At present, there are 7 states that have bicameral - Jammu and Kashmir, , , , , , .

Reasons for having two houses

 Countries with large size and much diversity usually prefer to have two houses of the national legislature to give representation to all sections in the society.  To give representation to all geographical regions or parts of the country.  It makes it possible to have every decision reconsidered which means every and policy would be discussed twice.

RAJYA SABHA

 Rajya Sabha represents the States of India. It is a indirectly elected body having 245 members.  Residents of the State elect members to State Legislative Assembly.  The elected members of the State Legislative Assembly inturn elect the members of Rajya Sabha.  Members of Rajya Sabha are elected for a term of 6 years but they can be re-elected. Every 2 years one-third members of the Rajya Sabha complete their term and elections are held for those one-third seats only.  Thus, Rajya Sabha is never fully dissolved and so it is a Permanent House of the Parliament.  The advantage of this arrangement is that when the Lok Sabha is dissolved and elections are yet to take place, the meeting of the Rajya Sabha can be called and urgent business can be conducted.  The number of members to be elected from each state has been fixed by fourth schedule of the Constitution.  Apart from elected members, Rajya Sabha also has 12 nominated members who are nominated by the President from amongst those persons who have made their mark in the field of literature, arts, social service etc.  Our Rajya Sabha has asymmetrical representation. It means the members of states in Rajya Sabha are elected on the basis of population in the states. UP is one of the largest states with a large population, so its representation in Rajya Sabha is 31. North- Eastern states are small in size and have a small population so they have less representation.  Rajya Sabha follows asymmetrical representation so as to avoid inequality in representation between bigger and smaller states.

LOK SABHA

 Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies are directly elected by the people.  For the purpose of elections, the entire country is divided into territorial constituencies of roughly equal population.  One representative is elected from each constituency through Universal Adult Franchise. At present there are 543 constituencies and this number has not changed since 1971.  A political party should have 543/2+1 seats in Lok Sabha to form the government. It means a just majority would be attained if a party would have 271+1 seats in Lok Sabha.  This can be attained either by a party or a coalition.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POWERS OF LOK SABHA AND RAJYA SABHA

LOK SABHA RAJYA SABHA i) Introduce and enact money bills. i) It cannot introduce or enact money bills. They can only give suggestions for any amendments to money bills. ii) Approves proposals for taxation, budgets ii) Since it can only suggest on money bills, and annual financial statements. it has no powers on taxation or budget. iii) It controls the executive by asking iii) It also exercises control by asking questions, supplementary questions, questions, motions and resolutions but cannot resolutions and motions and through no pass any confidence motion because it a confidence motion. Permanent House. iv) It amends the Constitution. iv) It has same powers in amending the Constitution. v) Approves proclamation of emergency. v) Has no powers regarding emergency.

vi) Elects President and Vice- President and vi) Elects President and Vice President and removes judges of the Supreme Court and removes judges of Supreme Court and High High Court. Court but power to remove President lies only with Rajya Sabha. vii) Establishes Committees and vii) Gives union parliament power to make Commissions and give their reports. on matters included in the .

SPECIAL POWERS OF RAJYA SABHA

 Rajya Sabha represents states of India. Its purpose is to protect the powers of the states. Therefore, any matter that affects the states must be referred to it for its consent and approval.  Thus, if the Union Parliament wishes to remove a matter from the state list to either the or in the interest of the nation, the approval of Rajya Sabha is necessary.

WHAT DOES THE PARLIAMENT DO?

The Parliament is engaged in many functions-

 Legislative Functions- The Parliament enacts legislation for the country or make laws. Despite being the chief law making body, the Parliament often merely approves the legislation. The actual task of drafting the bill is performed by the bureaucracy under the supervision of the minister concerned.  Control on the executive and ensuring its accountability- The most vital function of the Parliament is to ensure that the executive does not overstep its authority and remains responsible to the people, who have elected them.  Financial Functions- Legislature controls the taxation and the way in which money is used by the government. This function also involves grant of resources to the government to implement its programmes. The legislature also ensures that the government does not misspend or overspend and this is done through budget and annual financial statements.  Representation- Parliament represents the divergent views of members from different regional, social, economic, religious groups of different parts of the country.  Debating Functions- The Parliament is the highest forum of debate in the country. There is no limitation on its power of discussion and members are free to speak on any matter without fear.  Constituent Functions- The Parliament has the power of discussing and enacting changes to the Constitution. All constitutional amendments have to be approved by a special majority of both the houses.  Electoral functions- The Parliament also performs some electoral functions which includes electing the President and Vice-.  Judicial Functions- The function of the Parliament include considering the proposals for the removal of President, Vice-President and Judges of the High Court and Supreme Court.

WHAT DO THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES DO?

 A significant feature of the legislative process is the appointment of the committees for various legislative purposes.  The committees play a vital role not only in the law making but also in the day-to-day business of the house.  The functions of these committees include discussion and indepth study of the issues under consideration, studying the demands for grants made by various ministries, looking into expenditure incurred by various departments, investigating cases of corruption etc.  Since 1983, India has developed a system of parliamentary standing committees. But these committees only have the authority to provide suggestions.  There are over twenty such committees. The two most important committees are-  Standing Committees- which supervise the work of various departments, their budget, their expenditure and bills that come up in the house relating to the department. Example- Committee on Commerce, agriculture, Human Resource Development, Transport and tourism.  Adhoc Committees- are appointed for a specific purpose and they cease to exist when they finish the task assigned to them and submit a report. The Adhoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on bills. Example- Committees on Ethics, on management in Parliament, committee on security in Parliament.  Apart from Standing Committees, the Joint Parliamentary Committees have occupied a position of prominence in our country which is set up for the purpose of discussing a particular bill. The Committee system has reduced the burden on Parliament to a great extent and has been called the miniature legislature.

HOW DOES PARLIAMENT REGUALTES ITSELF?

 The Constitution itself has made certain provisions to ensure smooth conduct of business.  The presiding officer is the final authority in matters of regulating the business of the legislature.  Another way of controlling the behavior of the members is to prevent defection.

WHAT IS DEFECTION?

 If a member remains absent in the house when asked by the party leadership to remain present or votes against the instructions of the party or voluntarily leaves the membership of the party, it is deemed as defection.  To control this problem our Constitution made an amendment in 1985, and passed an anti-defection law according to which if the member changes his/her party he/she loses the membership of the house and is also disqualified from holding any political office like ministership etc.  The Presiding officer of the house is the authority who takes final decisions on all such cases.

PARLIAMENTARY OFFICIALS

SPEAKER

 Election-The is elected by the members of the Lok Sabha. The Speaker must necessarily be a member of the Lok Sabha. The primary function of the newly elected Lok Sabha is to elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker. The Speaker is elected by a simple majority. Generally, the Speaker is taken from the ruling party while Deputy Speaker is taken from the opposition parties.  Term of Office- Normally, the Speaker is elected for a period of five years. However, he is in office until a new Speaker is elected by the new House. The Speaker does not vacate his office even when the House is dissolved. The Speaker has to vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the House. He can be elected to this office for the second time also. The Speaker can resign from his office at any time. He can also be removed from his office by a resolution passed by a majority of all members of the Lok Sabha.

 Powers and Functions of the Speaker-  To preside over the meetings of Lok Sabha- The Speaker presides over the meetings of the Lok Sabha. All the members of the Houses have to obey his orders. It is his responsibility to maintain order in the House. If the situation goes out of control he can adjourn or suspend the meeting of the House.  To grant permission for the bills- The Speaker has the power to grant permission for the introduction of the Bills in the House.  To maintain discipline among the members of the Lok Sabha- It is the most important of the Speaker to maintain discipline and order in the House. If a member disregards his authority in spite of warning, he can name him for suspension.  Power about the speeches of the members- The Speaker grants permission to the members to speak in the Lok Sabha. No one can deliver a speech without his permission.  To preside over the joint sessions of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha- In case of a joint meeting of both the House of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) on a disputed Bill, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides.

DEPUTY SPEAKER

 The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the deputy to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the second highest legislative officer of the Lok Sabha. They act as the presiding officer in case of leave or absence caused by death or illness of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. It is by convention that position of Deputy Speaker is offered to opposition party in India.  The Deputy Speaker is elected in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the elections for a term of 5 years from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha. They hold office until either they cease to be a member of the Lok Sabha or they resign. They can be removed from office by a resolution passed in the Lok Sabha by an effective majority of its members.  Powers and Functions of the Deputy Speaker- In case of the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker presides over the sessions of the Lok Sabha and conducts the business in the house. He decides whether a bill is a or a non-money bill. They maintains discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for unruly behaviour by suspending him/her.

PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY

 A secretary to the Government of the administrative head of a ministry or department and is the principal adviser to the minister-in charge on all matters of policy and administration within the ministry or department.  The role of a secretary is as follows:  To act as the administrative head of the ministry or department. The responsibility in this regard is complete and undivided.  To act as the chief adviser to the minister on all aspects of policy and administrative affairs.  The position holder is generally a career civil servant, mostly from the Indian Administrative Service, and a government official of high seniority. In the Indian government, secretaries head departments or ministries of the government and hold positions such as Finance Secretary, Defence Secretary, , Defence Production Secretary .