Parliament

POLITY

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Parliament
 Legislature is one of most important institution for the functioning of representative
democracy. The basic objective of the legislature is to hold its representatives
accountable, responsible for the interest of the people in the country. Legislature is
generally referred as the highest law-making body, having elected representation
from all the constituents of the state to make or change the laws of the country. In
India, legislature at the Centre is called as Parliament and is also referred as
National Legislature. The legislatures in The State and the Union Territory are called
as Legislative Assemblies. The Parliament consists two houses namely; House of
the People (Lok Sabha – Lower House) and Council of States (Rajya Sabha - Upper
House). This is known as bicameral system of Parliament, and has inspired by the
British Parliamentary system and the bicameral system of the USA.

Union Legislature: The Parliament

 The Parliament is known as Union Legislature or National Legislature, which is a
supreme body of decision making and symbol of democratic governance. The
Parliament is the most powerful platform with accountability for debating on the
issues regarding welfare of the country and its people and enacting laws and making
changes to the constitution. When the Parliament meet for discussing various
agenda and approving bills, motions with a scheduled meeting is called Session.
The Parliament holds THREE sessions in a year.
1. Budget session (February-May)
2. Monsoon Session (July-August)
3. Winter Session (November-December

 It has two important powers and functions called as legislative and financial. The
legislative powers are for law making and the financial powers are to prepare money
bill as called as budget. Also the parliament has electoral functions with regard to
elect the President and the Vice- President of India. The Parliament has judicial
function also on the matters of the proposals for the removal of the President, Vice –
President, Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts and the process of

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 It is the duty of the President to summon the Parliament and it must have not less
than two sessions in a year. Every year, at the commencement of the first session of
the parliament, the President delivers his special address which would be the future
course of action of the parliament in view of giving framework for new policies,
programme and initiatives of the government.
 The parliament of India has functions of legislation, overseeing of administration,
passing of the budget, ventilation of public grievances, and discussing national
policies and issues of concern. The cabinet, both individually and collectively is
accountable to and removable by the Lok Sabha.

Functioning of House of People (Lok Sabha)

 The parliament has two houses and both houses carry the same values and
responsibilities with a few exceptions such as passing the finance bills. The first one
is the Lok Sabha (Lower House or House of People) with 543 members elected from
543 Parliamentary constituencies across the country directly by the people who
have attained the age of 18 and above and registered as voters. The Lok Sabha has
2 nominated members from the Anglo- Indian community.
 Quorum of the House: One tenth of the total number of members of Lok
Sabha / Rajya Sabha constitutes the quorum for a meeting of the House.

Total No. of Seats = 545

Time Period 5 years till
the ruling party enjoys
545 seats for members the confidence of Lok
elected by people Sabha

LOK
Majority = 272 Ruling Party
SABHA

2 seats for members Leader is the Prime

nominated by Anglo - Minister
Indian Community

PM selects the other

members Council of
Minister

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 The grand total number of members in the Lok Sabha is 545, but the nominated
members cannot decide the government when it proves majority on the floor of the
House. The Lok Sabha is the highest forum for discussion, debate on public issues,
interest and policies to cater to the socio-economic needs of the people.
 The members of both houses are generally called by the public as Member of
Parliament. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha is one who represents the
constituency of the state, comprising of six Assembly constituencies, directly elected
by the people through elections. The term of the Lok Sabha is for five years.

Roles and Responsibilities of Speaker

 The leader of the House of the People is the Speaker – who is elected by the Lok
Sabha, from among its members. The Speaker’s duties are to conduct, facilitate the
debates and discussions as well as the answers to questions, regulating the conduct
of Members of the House and taking care of their privileges and rights. The Speaker
of Lok Sabha is the administrative head of the parliamentary secretariat.
 The Speaker also ensures that the members adhere to the appropriate procedures,
and to allow the members to raise question, allotting time to speak and withdraw the
objectionable remarks from record and moving a motion of thanks to the President’s
speech. Th e Speaker has the power to expel the members if they fl out or violate
the norms and rules of the house.
 The permission of the Speaker is required to move amendments to a bill. It is up to
the Speaker to decide whether the bill has to be moved or not. The Speaker plays
the role of guardian of the rights and privileges of the house, its various Committees
such as consultative, select, advisory and of members of those Committees.
Another important power of the Speaker is to refer any question of privilege to the
Committee of privileges for examining, investigating and reporting. The questions
raised by the members and answers, explanations and reports are addressed to the
Speaker.
 The Speaker is the final authority to decide on the question of point of order. Under
the constitution, the Speaker enjoys special provisions and certifies money bills. The
Speaker of the House of the People presides the joint sessions of the
parliament in case a special occasions or in the event of disagreement
between the two houses on certain legislative measures. The Speaker
decides whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not and his decision on this question
is final.

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 It is the Speaker who decides on granting recognition to the Leader of

Opposition in the House of People. Under 52nd Constitution Amendment, the
Speaker has the disciplinary power to disqualify a member of the house on the
grounds of defection. Even though, the Speaker also one of the members of the
House and holds neutral, does not vote in the house except rare occasions when
there is a tie at the end of the decision.

Council of States (Rajya Sabha)

PARLIAMENT

Council of the States House of the People

Not more than 250 members Not more than 552 members

Not more than 530

Not more than 238
representative of Not more than 20
representative of
12 nominated States plus not more representatives of
States and Union
than 2 nominated Union Territories
Territories
Anglo-Indians

 The Rajya Sabha or the Council of States is called as upper house. It has a total
number of 250 members including 238 from all the states and union territories and
12 members nominated by the President. The council of states Rajya Sabha is
called as second chamber of the Parliament of India. The Rajya Sabha is an
institution to protect the rights and interests of the states like the senate in USA. It
was constituted on 3rd April, 1952.

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 The members for Rajya Sabha are elected by the members of the respective State
Legislative Assemblies (MLAs). Apart from the members of the states, twelve
distinguished members from the fields of literature, science, art, and social service
were nominated by the President of India.
 Unlike House of People, Council of States is not subject to dissolution but one third
of the members retire every second year. The term of the individual member is six
years. The members of the Council of States are elected by their respective state
legislative assemblies in accordance with the system of proportional representation
by means of the single transferable vote.

The Functioning of Rajya Sabha

 The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The
Chairman presides over the proceedings and regulates the Rajya Sabha. Except the
Money/Financial Bill all other bills will be placed before the Rajya Sabha for
discussion, questions, motions and resolutions under the rules of procedure and
conduct of business.
 The functions of Rajya Sabha may broadly be categorized as: Legislative, Financial,
Deliberative and Federal. Legislation is by far the most important business of Rajya
Sabha, as indeed of Parliament and in this sphere, Rajya Sabha enjoys almost
equal powers with Lok Sabha.
 In the U.S.A, the representatives in the state council are called as Senate
where every state has equal representation irrespective of size and
population of the states. But in India, the representation in the Rajya Sabha is
based on its size of population.
 For example, Uttar Pradesh with the highest population elects 31 members to Rajya
Sabha; on the other hand, Sikkim, the least populated state, elects only one member
to Rajya Sabha. Tamil Nadu elects 18 members to the Rajya Sabha. The number of
members to be elected from each State has been fixed by the fourth schedule of the
Constitution. Members of the Rajya Sabha are elected for a term of six years and
then they can be re-elected. The Rajya Sabha is known as Permanent House of the
Parliament that never gets fully dissolved. Some of the important privileges and
immunities are given to the Members of Rajya Sabha as follows.

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Who can be a Member of Rajya Sabha?

 Must be a citizen of India

 Must not be less than 30 years

 Under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a person had to be an elector in
a parliamentary constituency in the State from where he seeks election to Rajya
Sabha.

 It may, however, be mentioned that the Representation of the People (Amendment)

Act, 2003, which amended Section 3 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951,
has done away with the requirement of being a resident of State or Union territory
from which a person seeks to contest elections to Rajya Sabha.

 He/She has to be an elector in a parliamentary constituency anywhere in India.

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Parliament : Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha

Power of the Lok Sabha
1. The of Lok Sabha is the most powerful political institution which reflects the political,
social and economic conditions of the country, holds highest responsibility and
virtually represents the entire population.

2. The Lok Sabha is constituted with members elected directly by the people. These
members represent the varied interests of the people. Thus it becomes the apex
democratic institution. It is here that the nation’s policies, programmes and laws
emerge.

3. The Lok Sabha makes the Laws on the matters of Union List and Concurrent List. It
can exact new laws and repeal existing law or amend the same. It has an exclusive
authority over money bills.

4. The Lok Sabha makes the Laws on the matters of Union List and Concurrent List. It
can exact new laws and repeal existing law or amend the same. It has an exclusive
authority over money bills.

5. One of the privileges of the Lok Sabha is preparing and presenting the budget and
financial statement, which is an explicit expression of people’s control over the
nation’s economy.

6. The Lok Sabha controls the executive by asking questions, supplementary

questions, passing resolutions, motions and no confidence motion.

7. The Lok Sabha has the power to amend the constitution and approve the
proclamation of emergency.

8. The Lok Sabha involves in electing the President and Vice-President of India.

9. The Lok Sabha has power to establish new Committees and commissions and
tabling their reports for debate and discussion and further consideration for
implementation.

10. The Lok Sabha controls the council of Ministers and a Prime Minister, who enjoys
the majority support of it. If the Prime Minister loses the confidence of the Lok
Sabha, the entire government has to quit and face the election.

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Power of Rajya Sabha

Equal Status with Lok Sabha
In the following matters, the powers and status of the Rajya Sabha are equal to that of
the Lok Sabha:
1. Introduction and passage of ordinary bills and Constitutional amendment bills.
2. Introduction and passage of financial bills involving expenditure from the
Consolidated Fund of India.
3. Election and impeachment of the President.
4. Election and removal of the Vice- President. However, Rajya Sabha alone
can initiate the removal of the vice- President. He is removed by a resolution
passed by the Rajya Sabha by a special majority and agreed to by the Lok
Sabha by a simple majority.
5. Making recommendation to the President for the removal of Chief Justice and
judges of Supreme Court and high courts, chief election commissioner and
comptroller and auditor general.
6. Approval of ordinances issued by the President.
7. Approval of proclamation of all three types of emergencies by the President.
8. Selection of ministers including the Prime Minister. Under the Constitution,
the ministers including the Prime Minister can be members of either House.
However, irrespective of their membership, they are responsible only to the
Lok Sabha.
9. Consideration of the reports of the constitutional bodies like Finance
Commission, Union Public Service Commission, comptroller and auditor
general, etc.
10. Enlargement of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Union Public
Service Commission.

Unequal Status with Lok Sabha

In the following matters, the powers and status of the Rajya Sabha are unequal to that
of the Lok Sabha:
1. A Money Bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya
Sabha.
2. Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a Money Bill. It should return the bill to
the Lok Sabha within 14 days, either with recommendations or without
recommendations.

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3. The Lok Sabha can either accept or reject all or any of the recommendation
of the Rajya Sabha. In both the cases, the money bill is deemed to have been
passed by the two Houses.
4. A financial bill, not containing solely the matters of Article 110, also can be
introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha. But, with
regard to its passage, both the Houses have equal powers.
5. The final power to decide whether a particular bill is a Money Bill or not is
vested in the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
6. The Speaker of Lok Sabha presides over the joint sitting of both the Houses.
7. The Lok Sabha with greater number wins the battle in a joint sitting except
when the combined strength of the ruling party in both the Houses is less
than that of the opposition parties.
8. Rajya Sabha can only discuss the budget but cannot vote on the demands for
grants (which is the exclusive privilege of the Lok Sabha).
9. A resolution for the discontinuance of the national emergency can be passed
only by the Lok Sabha and not by the Rajya Sabha.
10. The Rajya Sabha cannot remove the council of ministers by passing a no-
confidence motion. This is because the Council of ministers is collectively
responsible only to the Lok Sabha. But, the Rajya Sabha can discuss and
criticize the policies and activities of the government.

Special Powers of Rajya Sabha

Due to its federal character, the Rajya Sabha has been given two exclusive or special
powers that are not enjoyed by the Lok Sabha:
1. It can authorize the Parliament to make a law on a subject enumerated in the
State List (Article 249).
2. It can authorize the Parliament to create new All-India Service common to
both the Centre and states (Article 312).

An analysis of the above points makes it clear that the position of the Rajya Sabha in
our constitutional system is not as weak as that of the House of Lords in the British
constitutional system nor as strong as that of the Senate in the American constitutional
system. Except in financial matters and control over the council of ministers, the powers
and status of the Rajya Sabha in all other spheres are broadly equal and coordinate
with that of the Lok Sabha.
Even though the Rajya Sabha has been given less powers as compared with the Lok
Sabha, its utility is supported on the following grounds:

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1. It checks hasty, defective, careless and ill-considered legislation made by the

Lok Sabha by making provision of revision and thought.
2. It facilitates giving representation to eminent professionals and experts who
cannot face the direct election. The President nominates 12 such persons to
the Rajya Sabha.
3. It maintains the federal equilibrium by protecting the interests of the states
against the undue interference of the Centre.

Hindi and English have been declared by the Constitution to be the languages for
conducting business in Parliament. The Presiding Officer may, however, allow any
member not proficient in either to address the House in his mother tongue (Article 120).

Law Making Process

The law making process in Indian Parliament stands evident for its democratic
credentials. In the law making process, the role of opposition parties becomes much
more important to reflect upon the relevance of the bill and its context so as to
streamline the democratic governance.

The law is a guiding force to regulate the society, politics and economy for the welfare
of the state and people. The law is primarily introduced in the Parliament in the form of
‘bill’ as proposed legislation for consideration of the legislature. The bill will be taken for
thorough discussion in the parliament to have an understanding within the framework of
the constitution.

The bill will become law once the legislature passed it and approved by the President.
The law becomes an act only after getting consent from the President of India. The
primary function of the Parliament is to make fresh laws and bring changes in the
existing laws in accordance with the constitutional procedures. The Parliament of India
passes two types of bills such as:

1. Money Bill

2. Non-Money Bill or ordinary or public bills

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An ordinary bill has to pass through different stages before becoming an Act. The
procedures prescribed in the Constitution for passing the bills are of two different
categories. These are as follows: An ordinary bill under consideration has to go through
following stages and has to pass through both houses with discussions, suggestions
and approval. An ordinary bill may be introduced in either House of the Parliament.

1. The first stage of the bill relates to the introduction of the bill in either house
as ‘Reading of the Bill’. Most of the bills are introduced by the Ministers
concerned. The bill is drafted by the technical experts in that particular field
and then council of ministers will approve the bill. The ordinary Member of
Parliament can also introduce a bill which is called as ‘Private Member Bill’.
For the introduction of the bill it should be informed to the Speaker of the Lok
Sabha or The Chairman of Rajya Sabha one month in advance. Then the
date of introduction for the Private Member Bill will be fixed and allowed to
move the bill in the floor of house. Generally, there will be no discussion on
the proposed bill at this reading stage which is only a formal affair.
2. After the introduction of bill, it will be published in Gazette of India. The
Speaker or the Chairman may allow some bills to be published in the Gazette
even before the first reading, in that case, no motion for leave to introduce bill
is necessary.
3. The Second Reading of the bill usually takes place after an interval of two
days after the first reading. At this stage, any of the four courses are adopted.
 The bill may be taken for consideration by the House at once.
 It may be sent to a select Committee of the House.
 It may be sent to a joint select Committee of the two Houses or
 It may be circulated for eliciting public opinion. Very rarely bills are
taken up for consideration straight away.

When the bill is adopted for circulation (i.e. 4th course), the secretariat of the House
concerned requests the State Governments to publish the bill in the State Gazettes
inviting opinions from local bodies and recognized associations. Such opinions are
circulated among the members of the House.

Committee Stage
If the bill is referred to a select Committee, the mover selects the members of the
Committee, the Speaker or the Chairman of the House appoints one member of the
Committee and the Chairman of the Committee. The Committee will study of the bill and
reports back to the House.

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 Report Stage
 The report stage is the most important stage where a bill is debated clause by
clause. In this stage, the report is circulated along with original bill and the report of
the Select Committee. The report stage is for giving final shape to the bill. Then the
bill will be submitted for the Third Reading in which the bill is to be passed with
majority of votes. The Third Reading is for formal approval by the Parliament. After
the bill is adopted at the Third Reading in either of the house, it is transmitted to the
other House, where it goes through all the stages. The other house may accept the
bill as it is. After coming across all the stages, it is sent to the President’s assent.

 Once a bill is passed in its originating house, it also may be rejected in the other
house. Otherwise, it may introduce amendments not acceptable to the original
House, or may not return the bill within six months. In such a case, a constitutional
deadlock develops between the two Houses. The President may call a joint session
of the two Houses to resolve the Dead lock. The Speaker or in his absence the
Deputy Speaker presides over such joint sessions. The deadlock is dissolved by
majority vote.

 Finally, the bill is passed by both Houses and goes to the President for his assent. If
the President assents to the bill, it becomes a law. But the President may return the
bill for reconsideration. If the bill is sent back to the President with or, without
amendments, the President cannot withhold his assent. Such a complicated and
time-consuming procedure is adopted to prevent hasty legislation.

 Private Member Bills:

 If any member other than a minister introduces a bill, it is called a private member
bill. The bill can be introduced by both ruling and opposition party MPs. Private
member bill is a bill proposed by a member who is not a member of the cabinet and
executive. The session for private member bill is held at alternative Fridays from 2
pm to 6 pm.

 This bill needs a month of notice; this has no impact on the health of the government
when the private member bill gets rejected. Till date, the parliament has passed
fourteen private member bills; the last one was passed in 1970. Most of the bill
passed by the private member is not even read or discussed and dismissed. Private
members bills are accepted even those are constitutional amendment bills but not
that those are money bills.

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The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2015: The Rights of Transgender

Persons Bill, 2015 is a private member bill introduced by Trichy Shiva M.P. of Tamil
Nadu, which seeks to end the discrimination faced by transgender people in India. The
Bill was passed by the upper house Rajya Sabha on 24 April 2015. It was introduced in
the lower house Lok Sabha on 26 February 2016. The Bill is considered historic as for
being the first private member’s bill to be passed by any house in 36 years and by
Rajya Sabha in 45 years.

Distribution of Powers of Legislature

 The legislative powers and functions of the Union and the States are clearly
demarcated in seventh schedule of the Constitution of India. The powers on which
both union and the states can legislate are clearly defined. The Constitution has
classified the subjects for which the legislation can be made to perform the duties
and responsibilities with specific powers for division of powers to avoid the seventh
schedule of the constitution which provides for trifurcation of legislative powers;

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1. The Union List

2. The State List and
3. The Concurrent List

 The Union List includes the subjects over which the parliament has exclusive
authority to make laws and change the existing laws. The State Legislature has
exclusive authority over subjects mentioned in the state list. In the subjects
enumerated in the ‘Concurrent List’ both the Union and the States can legislate. In
the event of contradictions between the Union and States, the Union’s authority will
prevail. The residuary power is vested in the Centre.

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Amendment Process and Procedure

The Constitution of India has a unique provision to make the Constitution relevant to
changing conditions and needs but without changing the basic structure. Article 368
deals with the amendment of the Constitution. As per this article, the Parliament has the
supreme power to initiate the amendment process. The procedures for amendment of
the constitution are as follows:

Parliament may amend the constitution through by way of addition, variation or repeal
any provision of this Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down in this
article.

An amendment of this Constitution may be initiated through the introduction of a Bill in

either House of Parliament, and when the Bill is passed in each House by a majority of
the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the
members of that House present and voting, it shall be presented to the President who
shall give his assent to the Bill.

The bill must be passed in each house by a special majority, that is, majority by more
than 50 percent of the total membership of the house and a majority of two-thirds of the
members of the house present and voting.

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Each house must pass the bill separately. In case of a disagreement between the two
houses, on issues concerning amendment there is no provision for holding a joint-sitting
of the two houses. If the bill seeks to amend the federal provisions of the constitution, it
must also be ratified by the legislatures of half of the states by a simple majority, that is,
a majority of the members present and voting in such legislatures.

After duly passed by both the houses of parliament and ratified by the state legislatures
wherever necessary, the bill is forwarded to the President for assent.

The President must give his assent to the bill. He can neither withhold his assent to the
bill nor return the bill for reconsideration of the Parliament. After President’s assent, the
bill becomes an Act (i.e., A Constitutional Amendment Act) and the constitution stands
amended in accordance with the terms of the Act.

Types of Amendments
The constitution can be amended in three ways:
1. Simple majority of the parliament,
2. Special majority of the parliament, and
3. Special majority of the parliament and the ratification of half of the state
legislatures

Simple Majority of Parliament

According to Article 368 a number of provisions in the constitution can be
houses of parliament. These provisions included

1. Admission or establishment of new states, formation of new States and

alteration of areas, boundaries, or names of existing states.
2. Abolition or creation of legislative councils in states.
3. Second schedule - emoluments, allowances, privileges and so on of the
President, the Governors, the Speakers, judges, etc.
4. Quorum in parliament.
5. of parliament.
6. Rules of procedure in parliament.
7. Privileges of the parliament, its members and its members and its
Committees.
8.

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1. Number of judges in the Supreme Court.

2. Supreme Court.
3. Use of official languages.
4. – acquisition termination.
5. Elections to parliament and legislatures.
6. Delimitation of constituencies.
7. Union territories.
8. Fifth schedule – administration of
9. Sixth schedule – administration of tribal areas.

By special Majority of Parliament

The majority of the provisions in the constitution need to be amended by a special

majority of the parliament, that is, a majority (i.e., more than 50 per cent) of the total
membership of each house and a majority of two-thirds of the members of each house
present and
there are vacancies or absentees. The special majority is required only for
voting at the third reading stage of the be
amended in this way included

ii. principles of state policy and

iii. all the first and third categories.

Amendments by Special Majority of Parliament and Consent of

States
The basic structures of the constitution which are related to the federal structure of
the polity can be amended by a special majority of the parliament and also with the
consent of half of the state legislatures by a simple majority. There is no time limit
within to the bill. The following provisions can
be amended in this way:
1. Election of the President and manner.
2. Extent of the executive power of the union and the states.
3. Supreme Court and high courts.
4. Distribution of between the union and the states.

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1.
2.
3. Power of parliament to amend the constitution and its procedure (Article
368).

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