Rajya Sabha

Members of Rajya Sabha

About Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha is also called the House of Elders or the Council of States in an Indian Constitution. The Rajya Sabha is otherwise called the ‘Council of States,’ a classification presented by the House on August 23, 1954, and it has its exceptional component. The Government Act of 1919 laid out the ‘Chamber of State’ as a second place of the assembly with a restricted establishment, which was laid out in 1921.

Elements/Members of the Rajya Sabha

The composition of the Rajya Sabha denotes the number of members that will be a part of the Rajya Sabha or the strength of the House of Leaders to hold members.

Earlier the Rajya Sabha consisted of 216 members. 204 members from the 216 members were to be selected by the state and the remaining 12 members from the 216 members were to be nominated by the President.

The Indian Constitution has sanctioned the Rajya Sabha to hold a maximum capacity of 250 members. This member holding capacity can be further increased by amendments from the Constitution.

The current member holding capacity of the Rajya Sabha is 245 members and can be extended further to 250 members, out of which 233 members are elected by the state representatives and union territory representatives through elections through a process called ballot voting and the President himself elects the remaining twelve members.

The twelve nominated members of the Council of States are the members who have excelled in some particular fields and are dedicated contributors in those mentioned fields.

Admissibility for an Individual to be a Member of the Rajya Sabha

The 84th article of the Indian Constitution stated all the qualifications required by an individual to gain membership of Parliament (House of Councils). A member of the Rajya Sabha must possess the following attributes:

• They must be an Indian Citizen.
• His state of mind must be stable.
• They must not hold an office of profit under the Indian Government.
• They must be at least 30 years in age.
• They must not be insolvent who has been undischarged.
• They must possess some further additional qualifications as it may be required under any law passed by Parliament in this regard.
• Must not have a legal previous crime record.
• They should not be in debt.
• They must be elected by the State Legislative Assembly and Union territories by the proper means of a single transferable vote through a single ballot.

Disqualification from the membership of the House Of Council

• If they are not an Indian Citizen.
• If their state of mind is not stable.
• If they hold an office of profit under the Indian Government.
• If they are not 30 years in age.
• If they are insolvent, who has been undischarged.
• If they have a previous criminal record.
• If they are in debt.

Role of the Rajya Sabha in the Financial matter of India

Money Bills

A Money Bill is a Bill that contains only provisions dealing with the public and is passed by the Lok Sabha. A Bill, in some circumstances, cannot be considered to be a Money Bill because the only reason is that it provides for the imposition of fines.

The Budget

The estimation of all the bills expenditures of the Indian Government at the end of every financial year is called a budget. This Budget is tabled before the House of Elders (Rajya Sabha) in the presence of the President.

No budget-related discussions are to be carried out on the day a budget is passed in the Rajya Sabha.

Assent of the President 

When a Money Bill is passed by both the Houses, the Lok Sabha Secretariat obtains the President’s approval.

Officers of the Rajya Sabha

Leader of the House

The Leader of the Rajya Sabha is a Business Advisory Committee member. He is the leader of the Parliament of the ruling party in the Rajya Sabha.

Leader of the Opposition

An Opposition Leader in the Rajya Sabha is an elected Member of Lok Sabha or the leader of the second majority party in the Rajya Sabha who leads the opposing party in the Lok Sabha of the Parliament of India.

Chairman of Rajya Sabha

The Vice President of India is considered the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The chairman of the Rajya Sabha is the one who presides over its sessions.

Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha

A deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha plays a role in the chairman’s absence due to any reason. He takes over all the functions of the chairman in the Rajya Sabha.

The Secretary-General 

The secretary-general is the one who looks over the House’s secretariat and manages the activities of the chamber.

Conclusion

Every Indian citizen must know the importance of both the houses of our Indian Parliament. With every second thing, one must know the Indian Constitution and the roles of each Parliament House.

The Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha both have important duties and functions.