5 UNION LEGISLATION - PARLIAMENT
There shall be a Parliament for the Union, which shall consist of the President and the two houses to be known respectively as the council of states (the Rajya Sabha) and the house of People (the Lok Sabha)
The President, even though he does not sit in Parliament and appears there only for the purpose of delivering his opening address, is, under the constitution, a part of the legislature, and no bill passed by Parliament can become law without his assent.
The Lok Sabha
Composition :- The Lok Sabha, in which the real power lies, consists of not more than 550 representatives of the people inclusive of 20 representatives of the Union Territories. Two members of the Anglo-Indian community may be nominated by the President if the community is not adequately represented in the Lok Sabha through regular elections.
The Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha is composed of not more than 250 members, of whom
12 shall be nominated by the President; and
the remainder (i.e. 238) shall be representatives of the States and the Union Territories elected by the method of indirect election.
The 12 nominated members shall be chosen by the President from amongst persons having 'special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art, and social service'. The Constitution thus adopts the principle of nomination for giving distinguished persons a place in the Upper Chamber.
Election :- For Lok Sabha, the representatives of the States are directly elected by the people of the State on the basis of adult suffrage. Every citizen who is not less than 18 years of age and is not otherwise disqualified e.g. by reason of non-resident, unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt or illegal practice, shall be entitled to vote at such election. Uniformity of representation is provided for (a) there shall be allotted to each State a number of seats in the House of the People in such manner that the ratio between that number and the population of the State is, so far as practicable, the same for all States; and (b) each State shall be divided into territorial constituencies in such manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it is, so far as practicable, the same throughout the State.
Qualifications for Membership :- In order to be chosen a member of parliament, a person
must be a citizen of India;
must be not less than 30 years of age in the case of the Rajya Sabha and not less than 25 years of age in the case of the Lok Sabha. Additional qualifications may be prescribed by Parliament by law.
Disqualification for Membership
A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament
if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State (other than an office exempted by Parliament by law) but not a Minister for the Union or for a State; or
if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent Court;
if he is an undischarged insolvent.
if he has ceased to be citizen of India or has voluntarily acquired citizenship of a foreign State or is under acknowledgement of allegiance or adherence to a foreign power;
if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament. If any question arises as to whether a member of either House of Parliament has become subject to any of the above disqualifications, the President's decision, in accordance with the opinion of the Election Commission, shall be final.
5.1 The Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or the Council of People consists of not more than 550 members, out of which 530 are to be elected from states on the basis of adult franchise while not more than 20 are to be elected from the union territories.
The term of Lok Sabha is 5 years. It was increased to 6 years by the 42nd Amendment but again reduced to 5 years by the 44th Amendment.
Qualification for M.Ps :- In order to be a member of Parliament a person must be
citizen of India
must not be less than 25 years in the case of Lok Sabha and not less than 30 years in the case of Rajya Sabha
not of unsound mind
not an undischarged insolvent
not disqualified by the Parliament under law. Disputes regarding disqualification of a person are referred to the President of India who acts according to the opinion of the Election Commission. The number of seats for each state is so allocated that the ratio between the number and the population of the state is as far as practicable, the same of the states. The allocation will continue to be the same until the figure of the first census taken after 2000 A.D. are available.
Qualifications for a voter :- A voter must be -
a citizen of India
not less than 18 years of age,
not declare mentally unfit or insolvent or otherwise disqualified.
FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE PARLIAMENT
The Parliament makes laws
can amend the Constitution
has the power to impeach and remove the President and the judges of the Supreme Court. High Court and other officers such as the Chief Election Commissioner.
The Lok Sabha is not a permanent House. It is dissolved after the expiry of its term of five years. But it can be dissolved before the period of five years by the President on the advice of the Council of Ministers. New Lok Sabha is elected and constituted within a period of 6 months from the date of its dissolution.
The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha can be 552 members. Out of this, 530 members are elected from the States and 20 members.
members are elected from the Union Territories. The remaining two members are nominated by the President from among the Anglo-Indian community.
The members of the Lok Sabha are elected by the people directly on the basis of secret vote and universal franchise. For the purpose of election, the population is divided into various constituencies.
The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha are the members of the House and are elected by the members of the Lok Sabha themselves.
The Money Bills can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha.
The Lok Sabha is not bound to accept the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha with respect to Money Bills. The Lok Sabha has the real and final authority in respect of Money Bills.
The Council of Ministers is, infact, responsible to the Lok Sabha. It can remove a government from office by passing a resolution of no-confidence.
The Lok Sabha does not have any such power to declare a subject of the State List of national importance.
The Lok Sabha does not enjoy any such power to create new All India Services.
The Lok Sabha does not get this opportunity as the Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution.
Lok Sabha either approves or rejects such a proposal to remove the Vice-President but it cannot initiate such a proposal.
OFFICES OF PARLIAMENT
Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chairman of Rajya Sabha :-
Each house has its own presiding officer and secretarial staff. The Lok Sabha is presided over by a Speaker. There is also provision for a Deputy Speaker. Both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are elected by the Lok Sabha from among its members. The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker will normally hold office during the life of the House, but his office may terminate earlier in any of the following
by his ceasing to be a member of the house;
by resignation in writing, addressed to the Deputy Speaker, and vice versa;
by removal from office by a resolution, passed by a majority of all the then members of the House. Such a resolution shall not be moved unless at least 14 days notice has been given of the intention to move the resolution. While a resolution for his removal is under consideration, the Speaker shall not preside but he shall have the right to speak in, and to take the part in the proceedings of, the House, and shall also have a right of vote except in the case of equality of votes.
Powers of the Speaker :- At other meetings of the House the Speaker shall preside. The Speaker will not vote in the first instance, but shall have and exercise a casting vote in the case of equality of votes. The Speaker will have the final power to maintain order within the House of the people and to interpret its Rules of Procedure. The Speaker's conduct in regulating the procedure or maintaining order in the House will not be subject to the jurisdiction of any Court. The Speaker possesses certain powers not belonging to the Chairman of the Council of States. (a) The Speaker shall preside over a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. (b) When a Money Bill is transmitted from the Lower House to the Upper House, the Speaker shall endorse on the Bill his certificate that it is a Money Bill. While the office of Speaker is vacant or the Speaker is absent from a sitting of the House, the Deputy Speaker presides, except when a resolution for his own removal is under consideration.
The Chairman of the Council of States :- (who presides over that House) performs that function ex-officio. It is the Vice-President of India who shall ex-officio be the Chairman of the Council of States and shall preside over that House. When the Chairman acts as the President of India, the Office of the Chairman of the Council of States falls vacant and the duties of the office of the Chairman shall be performed by the Deputy Chairman. The Chairman may be removed from his office only if he is removed from the office of the Vice-President. The functions of the Chairman in the Council of States are similar to those of the Speaker in the House of the People except that the Speaker has certain special powers according to the Constitution. The Rajya Sabha elects one of its members as its Deputy Chairman, who performs the functions of the Chairman.
Privileges and Immunities of Members :- Both the Houses of Parliament as well as of a State Legislature have similar privilege under our Constitution. Privileges are of two kinds; (a) those which are enjoyed by the members individually, and (b) those which belong to each House of Parliament as a collective body. The major privileges enjoyed by the members individually are as follows. (i) Exemption from attendance as juniors and witnesses. (ii) Immunity is, however, confined to arrest in civil cases and does not extend to arrest in civil cases and does not extend to arrest in criminal cases or under the law of Preventive Detention. (iii) Freedom of Speech: This does not mean unrestricted licence to say anything that a member may like, regardless of the dignity of the House. The freedom is 'subject to the rules' framed by the House under its powers to regulate its internal procedure.
The Constitution itself imposes another limitation upon the freedom of speech in Parliament, namely that no discussion shall take place in Parliament with respect to the conduct of any Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court in the discharge of his duties except upon a motion for presenting an address to the President praying for the removal of the judge.
Money Bills :- A Bill is deemed to be a 'Money Bill' if it contains only provisions dealing with all or any of the following matters;
(a) the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;
(b) the regulation of the borrowing of money by the Government;
(c) the custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of moneys into or the withdrawal of moneys from any such fund;
(d) the appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India;
(e) the declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or the increasing of the mount of any such expenditure;
(f) the receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the public account of India or the custody or issue of such money or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of a State; or
(g) any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in sub clauses (a) to (f).
If any question arises whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, the decision or the Speaker of the Lok Sabha on it shall be final.
The following is the procedure for the passing of Money Bills in Parliament. A Money Bill shall not be introduced in the Council of States. Secondly, a Money Bill is introduced only by the Ministers. Private members cannot introduce such bills. Money Bills, like ordinary Bills, go through three readings. After being passed by the Lok Sabha it is sent to the Rajya Sabha for its consideration. A Bill certified by the Speaker as a Money Bill has to be disposed of by the Rajya Sabha within fourteen days. If it is passed by the Rajya Sabha without any change it is returned to the Lok Sabha and sent to the President for his formal assent. If the Rajya Sabha makes one or more changes in it, it is reconsidered by the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha is free to accept or reject the changes suggested by the Upper House. When the Bill is again passed by the Lok Sabha it is sent to the President for his assent.
If no action is taken by the Rajya Sabha on a Money Bill within fourteen days, it is deemed to have been approved by the Upper House. The Bill is straight away sent for President's assent.
Financial Legislation :- An annual budget [Art. 112] containing the proposed expenditure and estimated income and taxation proposals is introduced by the Finance Minister, about a month before the commencement of a new Financial Year, in the Lok Sabha. Demands for grants of various Ministers are discussed by the Lok Sabha and approved one by one. All the expenditures approved through various demands for grants are then presented in the form of an Appropriation Bill by the Finance Minister in the Lok Sabha. Taxation proposals are presented by him in the form of the Finance Bill. Both these bills are called Money Bills and are passed according to the procedure explained above. The Railway Budget is separately moved by the Railway Minister in the Lok Sabha.
Expenditure Charged on the Consolidated Fund of India :- So much of the estimates as related to expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India shall not be submitted to the vote of Parliament but each House is competent to discuss any of these estimates. No money can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund except under an Appropriation Act. The following expenditure shall be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India:
(a) the emoluments and allowances of the President and other expenditure relating to his office;
(b) the salaries and allowances of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Council of States and the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of the People;
(c) debt charges for which the Government of India is liable;
(d) (i) the salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of Judges of the Supreme Court; (ii) the pensions payable to or in respect of the Judges of any High Court;
(e) the salary, allowances and pension payable to or in respect of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India;
(f) any sums required to satisfy any judgement, decree or award of any court or arbitral tribunal;
(g) any other expenditure declared by the Constitution or by Parliament by law to be so charged.
5. 2 Questions in Parliament
Question Hour :- The Question Hour is of 60 minute duration. It is fixed every day from 11.00 AM to 12.00 AM to allow the Members of Parliament to ask questions that may be directed to the private members with respect to the Bills or motions for which the concerned member is responsible.
Every day, the sitting of Parliament begins with the question Hour. The questions are of three kinds:
Starred Questions
Unstarred Questions
Short-notice Questions
Starred Questions :- If a member of either House desires an oral answer to his question, such questions are termed as starred questions. The starred questions are distinguished by putting on a star mark along with the question. The starred questions allow a member to ask supplementary questions, if the answer is not found satisfactory.
Unstarred Questions :- These are questions whose answers are given in writing. These questions do not have star marks and hence are called unstarred questions. Their answer is supplied in the written form, which is laid on the floor of the House on the prescribed day. The supplementary questions are not allowed in unstarred questions.
Short-notice Questions :- For asking a question in Parliament, a notice has to be given before not less than 10 days. If there is an urgency that a member cannot wait for 10 days, he may resort to short notice questions.
