Qualifications of Rajya Sabha Members

Both the houses of parliament ought to have elected as well as nominated members. To be a member of the Rajya Sabha, the primary and foremost issue is that they ought to be a citizen of India. The person involved ought to fulfill alternative necessities, too, as mentioned within the Representation of People Act 1951. 

Qualifications

As per Article 84 of the constitution

• Ought to be a citizen of India
• Ought to be of 30years older 
• Ought to have such alternative qualifications as mandated in this behalf underneath any Law enacted by Parliament

Qualifications needed by Law enacted Underneath Parliament

To fulfill the necessity underneath the third condition mentioned above, Parliament has enclosed alternative qualifications for the members within the Representation of People Act 1951.

Let us discuss all these one by one.

• Only a Citizen of India who is an elector is eligible.
• Citizens of India who are from a reserved class can contest the election if the class is reserved.
• Citizens of India of the SC/ST caste have the privilege of contesting election for a class though it is not reserved.

Disqualifications

Once discussing the qualifications, let us try and find out about the disqualifications. These disqualifications are prescribed in Article 102 as written below:

• If the candidate holds an office of profit under the central Government or any state government.
• Is of unsound mind as declared by Court of law
• Is undischarged insolvent
• Has ceased to be a national of the Republic of India
• Has attracted the other disqualification as per the other law of parliament.

The last condition has led Parliament to incorporate some other conditions as per the Representation of People Act 1951 unit mentioned below

Other Conditions

• Should not be guilty of any offense touching on elections or must not have indulged in any corrupt practices.
• Should not have undergone any imprisonment for any offense for 2 or more years.
• Should not have failed to submit an account of the election.
• Should not be an interested party in Government contracts, works, or services.
• Should not be a director or a key manager person in a company in which Government holds 25% share
• Should not have faced dismissal while being in government service on charges of corruption or unfaithfulness.
• Should not have been found guilty of promoting animosity among teams
• Should not be found guilty of any crime associated with society like the promotion of untouchability unless it is condoned by the party to whom he belongs
• If he is no longer a citizen of India
• If he voluntarily give up the membership of their party

A member shall not be disqualified on this account if he voluntarily leaves the membership of his party once he becomes the Deputy Chairman.

Composition of Rajya Sabha

The maximum number of members Rajya Sabha can have is 250, out of which 238 members shall be elected, whereas the rest 12 shall be nominated by the President of India. The vice-president of India is supposed to be the Ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha also elects a Deputy chairman amongst its members. Apart from this, a panel of Vice chairmen is also formed.

The member of Rajya Sabha, who is the senior-most minister, shall be appointed as the leader of the house by the prime minister. Harivansh Narayan Singh is the current deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha. He has occupied this position since 14th September 2020. The twelve members who are nominated are selected among people who have made immense contributions in the field of art, Literature, Science, social service, etc.

Manner of Allocation of Seats

The allocation of seats is formed on the standards of the population of every State. Rajya Sabha is a perpetual entity and doesn’t get dissolved.  However, 1/3 of the members of Rajya Sabha are liable to retire by rotation once each second year.  The members have a tenure of six years.  The elections held for reasons apart from the retirement of members are called By-election. A member thus appointed in this By-election shall serve for the remaining  part of the term of the member because of whose death, resignation, disqualification, the vacancy arose

Conclusion

The citizens of India, zealous of turning into members of Rajya Sabha, ought to show allegiance to the constitution and will additionally fulfill the wants as given by the Representation of People Act 1951.