The Parliament of India

In the federal polity of India, Parliament is the highest legislative body of the country. Often considered the Temple of Democracy, it enjoys extended legislative powers. New Delhi, the capital city of the country, where the parliament of India is located. Herbert Baker and Edwin Lutyens are the architects who designed the parliament house of india. Being the highest law-making organ, it occupies the central position of Democracy. The parliament at present has unfolded as the fulcrum of Democracy, paving the way for rational governance.

Composition of the Parliament

Article 79 mentions the 3 components of the parliament. the parliament of india consists of:

• Lower House or Lok Sabha ( House of People).
• Upper House or Rajya Sabha ( Council of States).
• President of India.

Rajya Sabha

Ø  Council of States of the Indian Parliament was first constituted in 1952. It is the permanent house and the Upper House of the Parliament, where is the parliament of India which cannot be dissolved.

In 1954 the Hindi name Rajya Sabha was adopted.

Ø  where is the parliament of India, the maximum strength of the Upper House was restricted to 250, in which 238 is to be elected from the Union territories, and the States and the President nominates the remaining 12. Since the Constitutional Amendment Act 1992, now the Rajya Sabha of the Parliament of India consists of 233 elected members and 12 nominated ones which bring to the total of 245 members.

Although it is not subjected to dissolution, one-third of the members retire every second year. These retiring members can be nominated or re-elected again.

Ø  According to the Representation of the People Act 1951, the term of office of the Rajya Sabha members is 6 years.

Ø  Representation of all states is allotted based on the population. Uttar Pradesh has the highest representation with 31 members, whereas 19 from Maharashtra is the second highest. Amendment Act 1992 states there shall be no change till 2026 in the representation of states.

Ø  In Rajya Sabha, the Vice President is the Ex officio chairman,The Presiding officer is the Chairman. 

Ø  The members of the Upper House elect Deputy Chairman.

Special Powers Of Rajya Sabha

Ø  The power of legislation on any subject of the State list can only emerge in the Upper House [ Article 249].

Ø  The power of creating one or more All India Services can only be passed by the Upper House [Article 312].

Ø  The power of removal of Vice President  can only originate in the Upper House [Article 67]

Lok Sabha

Lok Sabha, or House of The People, was enacted in 1952. The Lower House of the Parliament of India consists of 550 members. It is a temporary House of 5 years term. The president can only dissolve it, and the court cannot challenge his decision. However, the term can be extended during an emergency.

Composition:

• Out of 131 reserved seats, 84 seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste representatives and 47 for Scheduled Tribes representatives.
• The quorum is 10% of the total membership.
• For a smooth operation of the Lower House, speaker and deputy speaker are elected amongst the members of the Lok Sabha. Generally, the speaker is elected from the ruling party and the Deputy Speaker is elected from the party in opposition.

Money Bills can pass through the Lower House alone. It may be sent to the Upper House for recommendations. Two-thirds of the majority must pass any bill for Constitutional Amendment in Lok Sabha. No confidence Motion can be moved only in Lok Sabha by the party in opposition only, in such a scenario, the Ministers along with the Prime Minister have to resign. In a DeadLock Situation where the Rajya Sabha holds back a non-financial bill passed by the Lok Sabha for 6 months, or the Lower House rejects the recommendations of the Upper House leads to a joint session where usually the Lok Sabha bill prevails. The architects who designed the Parliament house of India have cautiously created the Lok Sabha Chambers, where the house meets in Sansad Bhavan. The house also runs its own TV channel, Lok Sabha TV, within the Parliament premise.

Sessions of Parliament

Ø  Three sessions of parliament:

o   Budget Session: The budget session takes place from February-May. This is the longest of all the sessions.

o   Monsoon Session: This session takes place from July-August.

o   Winter Session: The shortest session that takes place in the month of November-December.

Ø  Both houses meet on the president’s call.

Ø  No more than 6 months’ gap is allowed between two sessions.

Assent of the President

Once both the houses pass the bill, the president approves. The President may give, withhold or return the bill for reconsideration. The president may also keep the bill pending to prevent it from becoming an act.

Parliamentary Committees & Parliamentary Motions

The parliament has committees to assist in discharging voluminous and complex functions efficiently. Parliamentary committees are mainly of two types: a permanent committee known as the Standing Committee and a temporary committee known as the Ad-hoc Committee.

Examples of Standing Committee:

o   Department related standing committees

o   Public Accounts Committee

o   Estimates Committee

o   Committee on Public Sector Undertaking

o   Committee for the welfare of SCs & STs

Examples of Ad-hoc Committee:

o   Joint Parliamentary Committee

o   Select committee on bills

o   The joint committee on bills

To achieve the functions of the house, parliamentary motions are devised. There are six parliamentary motions, namely: Censor Motion, No-Confidence Motion, as well as Confidence Motion and Cut Motion, Adjournment Motion, along with Calling Attention Motion. Moreover, the way in front of can be clearer by bringing amendments to the procedure of the Parliament Houses. It was established in terms of Article 118, making it obligatory to relate bills to the administrative panels and defining applicable action against disordered members.