{"id":220,"date":"2020-03-31T14:09:54","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T14:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/?p=220"},"modified":"2020-03-31T14:09:54","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T14:09:54","slug":"constitution-of-india-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/2020\/03\/31\/constitution-of-india-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Constitution Of India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Union Legislature\u2014The Parliament <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the Constitution, the legislature of the\nUnion is called the Parliament. The Indian Parliament is constituted
\non the basis of the principle of bicameralism, that is, the legislature having\ntwo Houses or Chambers. As the Constitution established a federal system of\ngovernment, there was almost unanimity among its framers for achieving a\nbalance between the direct representation of people and the representation of\nthe States by setting up two Houses, one representing the people as a whole and\nthe other the States. The two Houses of the Parliament are : the House of the
\nPeople (Lok Sabha), and the Council of States (Rajya Sabha). The names of the\nHouses fairly reflect the character of their composition. The House of the\nPeople is composed of directly-elected representatives on the basis of adult\nfranchise and territorial constituencies. The Council of States is composed\nmainly of representatives of the States elected by the State Assemblies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As laid down in Article 79<\/strong>, Parliament\nconsists of the President and the two Houses. Making the President a part of\nthe Parliament is in conformity with the principles and traditions of\nparliamentary government. In England, the Parliament comprises the King (or\nQueen), the House of Lords and the House of Commons. In contrast, the President\nof the United States is not a part of the American Congress. Whereas the\npresidential system of government emphasises the separation of the executive\nand legislative powers, the parliamentary system lays stress on the intimate\nrelationship and the inter\u00ad-dependence of the executive and the legislature.\nMinisters of the government are at the same time members of the legislature.\nAlthough the President himself is not a member of the legislature, his\nparticipation in the legislative process is ensured by making him a part of\nParliament. The fact that he is the chief executive authority and that the\nexecutive power is coextensive with the legislative powers also makes it\nnecessary that the President should become an integral part of Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

House of the People<\/strong>
(Lok Sabha)<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Composition : <\/strong>The House of the People or Lok Sabha is popularly known as the \u201cLower\nHouse\u201d of Parliament and its members are elected directly by the people. Unlike\nmany other constitutions, the maximum number of members to be elected to the\nLok Sabha is fixed by the Constitution. Originally, this number was fixed at\n500. But the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution, following the\nreorganisation of States in 1956, raised it to 520. At present, the maximum\npossible strength is 552, including 2 nominated Anglo-Indians. The Thirty-first\nAmendment of the Constitution in 1973 further raised it to not more than 545.\nOf these, a maximum of 20 seats are reserved for the Union Territories. (This\nfigure of 20 stands altered to 13 with the three Union Territories, i.e., <\/em>Arunachal\nPradesh, Goa and Mizoram, getting Statehood.) The remaining members are to be\nchosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the States. For\nthis purpose, to each State is allotted a certain number of seats on the basis\nof its population in proportion to the total population of all the States. For\nthe purpose of election, each State is divided into territorial units called\nconstituencies which are more or less of the same size in regard to population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The present total strength of the House, which\nis 545, includes two Anglo-Indian representatives who are nominated to the\nHouse by the President. This is in accordance with a special provision in the\nConstitution under which the President will nominate not more than two members\nof the Anglo-Indian community to the Lok Sabha if this community is not\nadequately represented in the House (Article 331<\/strong>). On the basis of the\n1951 Census, India had a population of
\n361 million. But in 1971, it was about 548 million, in 1981, about 684 million,\nin 1991, around 844 million and as
\nper 2011 Census, the population rose to 1.21 billion. With the present 543\nelected members in the House, one member, at present, represents about 2.2\nmillion of the population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The election to the Lok Sabha is conducted on\nthe basis of adult franchise, every man or woman who has completed the age of\n18 years being eligible to vote. The Constitution provides for secret ballot.\nThe electioneering process followed is
\n\u2018first-past-the-post\u2019\u2014a candidate who secures the largest number of votes is\ndeclared elected. Some members had advocated the system of proportional\nrepresentation for the election of members to the Lok Sabha. This was opposed\nby Dr. B.R. Ambedkar who pointed out that with the present standard of\nliteracy, India was not ready for proportional representation for election of\nmembers to the Lok Sabha. Further, proportional representation might bring\nabout a multiplicity of political parties and a chronic instability in government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The normal life of the Lok Sabha is five years\nfrom the date of its first meeting, but it may be dissolved earlier by the\nPresident of India. The President is also empowered to extend the life of the\nHouse for one year at a time during a national emergency. But in any case, the\nlife of the House cannot be extended beyond six months after the emergency has\nceased to operate. The House shall meet at least twice a year and the interval\nbetween two consecutive sessions shall be less than six months. The time and\nthe place of meeting will be decided by the President who will summon the House\nto meet. He has also the power to prorogue the House, that is, to put off the\nmeeting of the House from one session to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qualifications : <\/strong>There is hardly any qualification that the Constitution prescribes\nfor a member of Parliament except that he should be a citizen of India and has\ncompleted the age of twenty-five years, if he seeks election to the House of\nthe People and thirty years, if he seeks election to the Council of States. A\nstriking feature of the electoral law is that a candidate for election to the\nLok Sabha may stand from any parliamentary constituency in any of the States in\nIndia. Such a provision, which is almost unknown in other federal States, is an\nincidence of the principle of citizenship which emphasises the unity of the\nnation. A person who seeks election to the Council of States, however, should\nbe an elector in any of the parliamentary constituencies of the State from\nwhich he is standing for election. This emphasises the principle that the Rajya\nSabha is a representative of the States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Constitution has laid down certain\ndisqualifications for membership. These are: (1) no person can be a member of\nboth the Houses of the Parliament or a member of Parliament and of a State\nlegislature at the same time. There is no bar to a candidate contesting at the\nsame time for as many seats as he likes, or to as many legislatures as he\nlikes. But, if he is elected to more than one seat, he should vacate all except\none according to his choice. If the same person is elected to both a\nparliamentary seat and a seat in a State legislature and if he does not resign\nhis seat in the State legislature before a specified period, his seat in\nParliament will become vacant; (2) a person will be disqualified if he absents\nhimself for a period of sixty days from the meetings of the House without the\npermission of the House; (3) if he holds an office of profit under any\ngovernment in India; (4) if he is of unsound mind; (5) if he is an undischarged\ninsolvent; (6) if he voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country,\nor is under any acknowledgement of allegiance to a foreign State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In pursuance of the powers granted under Article\n327<\/strong> to regulate matters of election, Parliament passed in 1951 the\nRepresentation of the People\u2019s Act which too lays down certain conditions for\ndisqualification. These are: (1) a member of Parliament should not have been\nfound guilty by a court or an election tribunal of certain election offences or\ncorrupt practices in election; (2) he should not have been convicted by a court\nin India of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for a period of more than\ntwo years; (3) he should not have failed to lodge an account of his election\nexpenses within the time and in the manner prescribed; (4) he should not have\nbeen dismissed for corruption or disloyalty from government service;\n(5) he should not be a director or managing agent or hold an office of\nprofit under any corporation in which the government has any financial\ninterest; and (6) he should not have any interest in government contracts,\nexecution of government works or service. These disqualifications should not\nexist on the date of nomination of a candidate for election and on the date when\nthe results are declared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council\nof States
\n(Rajya Sabha)<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council of States is the \u201cUpper House\u201d of\nParliament and is popularly called the \u201cHouse of Elders\u201d. In spite of the\nacademic and theoretical denunciations of second chambers, the Constituent\nAssembly was practically unanimous about the usefulness and necessity of the\nCouncil of States as an integral part of the general scheme of the Union\nGovernment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The maximum strength of the House is fixed at\n250. At present, the strength of the House is 245. Of these, 12 members are\nnominated by the President. The remaining 233 are elected by the various State\nLegislative Assemblies, thus making the Council predominantly an indirectly\nelected body. For the purpose of this election, to each State is allotted a\ncertain number of seats in the Council. The main basis of such allotment is the\nstrength of the popula\u00adtion in each State. But this is not the sole\nconsideration. The smaller States have been accorded some weightage in\nrepresentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of each State Legislative Assembly form\nthe electorate for the purpose of electing the requisite number of members\nallotted to each State, thus ensuring the principle of State representation in\nthe \u201cUpper Chamber\u201d of Parliament. The election of members to the Council from\nthe State Assemblies is conducted in accor\u00addance with the system of\nproportional repre\u00adsentation by means of the single transferable vote and\nvoting is by secret ballot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council of States is a permanent body. The\nmembers of the Council are elected for six years. At the end of every second\nyear, one-third of the members retire and fresh elections take place to fill\nthe respective vacancy. This provision enables the Council to retain its\npolitical complexion in a more stable manner than the Lok Sabha, which after\nevery election is a completely new House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officers of Parliament<\/strong>
Speaker<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lok Sabha is presided over by the Speaker\nwho is elected by the House from among its own members. The office of the\nSpeaker is one of great dignity and authority. Once elected to the office, the\nSpeaker cuts off his party and group affiliations and is expected to function\nin a true spirit of inde\u00adpendence and impartiality. For the proper discharge of\nhis functions, the Constitution vests in him a number of special powers. In\naddition to these, the Rules of Procedure of the House confer on him a variety\nof powers for the orderly and efficient conduct of the business of the House.\nThe Speaker is, thus, the guardian and custodian of the rights and privileges of\nthe members, the House as a whole and its committees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Speaker can be removed from office by a\nspecial resolution of the House passed by a majority of all the then members of\nthe House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A special feature of the Speaker\u2019s office is\nthat even when the House is dissolved, the Speaker does not vacate his office\nuntil immediately before the first meeting of the Lok Sabha after its\ndissolution. The Speaker is entitled to a regular salary. Within the period of\nover five decades during which the Speaker\u2019s office has been in existence,\nconventions have already been established and the Speaker has, indeed, become a\ntrue symbol of the dignity and independence of the House as well as the\nguardian of the rights and privileges of its members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deputy Speaker<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Deputy Speaker, who presides over the House\nof the People in the absence of the Speaker, is elected in the same manner in\nwhich the Speaker is elected by the House. He can be removed from office also\nin the same manner. When he sits in the seat of the Speaker, he has all the\npowers of the Speaker and can perform all his functions. One of his special\nprivileges is that when he is appointed as a member of a parliamentary\ncommittee, he automatically becomes its chairman. By virtue of the office that\nhe holds, he has a right to be present at any meeting of any committee if he so\nchooses
\nand can preside over its deliberations. His rulings are generally final and, in\nany case, so far as they relate to the matters under discussion, the Deputy\nSpeaker may give guidance in the interest of uniformity in practice. Whenever\nthe Deputy Speaker is in doubt, he reserves the matter for the ruling of the\nSpeaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Deputy Speaker, however, is otherwise like\nany ordinary member when the Speaker presides over the House. He may speak like\nany other member, maintain his party affiliation and vote on propositions\nbefore the House as any ordinary member. The Deputy Speaker is also entitled to\na regular salary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panel of Chairmen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To facilitate the work of the House in the\nabsence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, there is provision for one of\nthe members of the House out of a panel of six Chairmen, whom the Speaker\nnominates from time to time, to preside over
\nits deliberations. When the Chairman sits in the Speaker\u2019s chair, he has all\nthe powers of the Speaker just as the Deputy Speaker has when he acts for the\nSpeaker. The Chairman, however, is just an ordinary member as soon as he\nvacates the Speaker\u2019s chair. A healthy convention has been built up by which\nthe Speaker nominates members on the panel of Chairmen irrespective of their\nparty affiliations. As a result, some of the members of the panel come from the\nranks of the opposition parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secretary-General<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Constitution authorises each House of\nParliament to have its own secretariat staff and also gives them the power to\nregulate by law the conditions of service of those appointed to the secretariat\nstaff. The Lok Sabha Secretariat is headed by a Secretary-General who is a\npermanent officer. He discharges, on behalf of the Speaker, the various\nadministrative and executive functions connected with the work of the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chairman and
\nDeputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the presiding officers of the Lok Sabha\nare called the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, their opposite numbers in the\nRajya Sabha are called the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman, respectively. The\nVice-President of India is the ex-officio <\/em>Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.\nAs the presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha, his functions and powers are the\nsame as those of the Speaker. He is, however, not a member of the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the absence of the Chairman, the House is\npresided over by the Deputy Chairman. He\/She is a member of the House and is\nelected by the members of the House. He\/She may be removed from his\/her office\nby a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council.\nHe\/She is entitled to a regular salary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Council of States also has a panel of\nmembers called \u201cVice-Chairmen\u201d, nominated by the Chairman for the purpose of\npresiding over the House in the absence of both the Chairman and the Deputy\nChairman. The Secretariat of the Rajya Sabha is headed by a Secretary-General\nwho discharges the same functions as the Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relationship\nBetween
\nThe Two Houses<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the participation and colla\u00adboration of\nboth the Houses are essential for all legislative activities
\nand without such collaboration practically nothing can be done in the\nlegislative field, the Constitution has recognised the superiority of the Lok\nSabha over the Rajya Sabha in certain respects. The first and perhaps the most\nimportant of these is the relationship between Parliament and the Council of\nMinisters. The Upper House has hardly any control over the Ministers who are\njointly and individually responsible for their actions to the House of the\nPeople.
\nIt is not that the Ministers, if they so choose, can ignore the Council of\nStates. The Council has every right to be fully informed of all matters\nconnected with the Government\u2019s activities which are raised on its floor. But\nit has no right to pass a censure motion against the Government of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, the power of the Council of States\nwith regard to Money Bills is almost negligible. Every Money Bill should be\nintroduced in the Lok Sabha. It is the fundamental principle of every taxation\nmeasure that it should be taken only with the consent of the people. In a\ndemocracy, the people\u2019s consent is essential both for the raising of public\nrevenues and their spending. Here again, the people\u2019s consent can be expressed\nonly by a House which is elected directly by the people. Under the procedure\nestablished by the Constitution, however, the Council is not altogether\nprevented from scrutinising Money Bills. But its power is only of an advisory\ncharacter. Every Money Bill passed by the House will go to the Council for its\nconsideration and within fourteen days after the receipt of the Bill, the\nCouncil must take whatever action it deems fit. It may pass it, in which case\nthe Bill goes to the President for his assent. If the Bill is amended or\nrejected by the Council, it goes back to the House where it is reconsidered and\nvoted by a simple majority and sent to the President. Thus, in financial\nmatters, the Rajya Sabha has only an advisory role and the Lok Sabha has the\nfinal say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In all other matters of legislation, including\nConstitutional amendments, the extent of the Council\u2019s power is the same as\nthat of the House. A Bill can be initiated either in the House or in the\nCouncil. The Council may amend or reject a Bill that is passed by the House. If\nthe House does not agree with the action of the Council, the contested measure\nis placed before a joint sitting of both the Houses and passed by a simple\nmajority. As the total membership of the Council is less than even half the\ntotal strength of the House of the People, the House is naturally bound to win\nin a conflict of this nature between the two. A Bill passed in a joint sitting\nis sent straight to the President for his assent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides, there are two other provisions which\nconfer upon the Council, as the sole representative of the States, powers in\nits own right and to the exclusion of the House. These are of considerable\nimportance from a Constitutional point of view. Under Article 249<\/strong>, the\nCouncil, with the support of two-thirds of its members sitting and voting, is\nempowered to declare that, in the national interest, Parliament should make\nlaws with respect to a matter that is included in the State List. On the\npassing of such a resolution, it becomes lawful for Parliament to make laws\nwith respect to that matter for the whole or any part of India for a period of\none year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second exclusive power of the Council is\nconnected with the setting up of all-India services. The special characteristic\nof an all-India service is that it is common to the Union and the States. As\nsuch, the setting up of such a service affects the powers of the States.\nTherefore, here again, the Council is given the power to decide by a resolution\nsupported by two-thirds majority the question of setting up of an all-India\nservice. Hence, any laws connected with such a service can be initiated only if\nthe Council passes such a resolution.\n\nThese provisions make the Rajya Sabha an important part of the\ngovernmental machinery and not an ornamental super-structure. It was not\ndesigned to play the humble role of an unimportant adviser, nor of an\noccasional check on hasty legislation. Its comparatively small and, therefore,\ncompact size, its permanent character which ensures a certain degree of\nstability and continuity in thought and action, and its having a large number\nof \u201celder statesmen\u201d among its members, and its broad-based representative\ncharacter\u2014all these, in course of time, should help to establish it not only as\na respectable, but also beneficial and influential body though not equal in\npower in all respects with the Lok Sabha.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Union Legislature\u2014The Parliament Under the Constitution, the legislature of the Union is called the Parliament. The Indian Parliament is constituted on the basis of the principle of bicameralism, that is, the legislature having two Houses or Chambers. As the Constitution established a federal system of government, there was almost unanimity among its framers for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":222,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions\/222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}