Parliament
- Articles 79 to 122 in Part V of the Constitution deals the Indian Parliament.
- Parliament is the legislative organ of the Indian Union government.
- Indian parliamentary form of government is also known as ‘Westminster’ model of government (British).
- The Parliament of India includes - the President, the Council of States and the House of the People.
- In 1954, the Hindi names ‘Rajya Sabha’ (Upper House, the Second Chamber or House of Elders) and ‘Lok Sabha’ (Lower House, the First Chamber or Popular House) were adopted.
Rajya Sabha
- The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha to the states and union territories.
- The maximum strength is 250 (238 from states and union territories (elected indirectly) and 12 are nominated by the president).
- Present strength of the Rajya Sabha is 245 (229 from states, 4 from union territories and 12 members are nominated by the president).
- The Rajya Sabha members are elected by the elected members of state legislative assemblies. Minimum age qualification is 30 years.
- Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu & Kashmir union territories have only representation in Rajya Sabha.
Lok Sabha
- The maximum strength is 552 (530 from the states, 20 from the union territories)
- Present strength of the Lok Sabha is 545 (530 from the states, 13 from the union territories)
- The Lok Sabha members are directly elected by the people. Minimum age qualification is 25 years. Currently the voting age is 18. The voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 years by the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1988.
- As per the Union Territories (Direct Election to the House of the People) Act, 1965, the members of Lok Sabha are also directly elected from the UT’s.
- After every census, a readjustment is to be made to the constituency. For this purpose the Parliament has enacted the Delimitation Commission Acts in 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.
- Currently the constituencies are adjusted as per the 2001 census.
- The Constitution has abandoned the communal representation system but follows the reservation system for SC’s and ST’s in the Lok Sabha. No reservation in Rajya sabha.
- For Lok Sabha election/membership the First-past-the-post system is followed instead of Proportional representation.
- The Lok Sabha is not a continuing chamber. Its term is five years from the date of its first meeting after the general elections.
- The qualifications and disqualifications for the members of parliament is enshrined in the Representation of People Act (1951).
- Anti-Defection law of 1985, also mentions the disqualifications of the members of parliament. Disqualification under the Tenth Schedule is decided by the Chairman in the case of Rajya Sabha and Speaker in the case of Lok Sabha (and not by the president of India). In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled that the decision is subject to judicial review.
- A person cannot be a member of both Houses of Parliament at the same time as per the Representation of People Act (1951).
- Salaries and allowances of members of Parliament is determined by the Parliament.
Note : Two types of proportional representation system – 1.Single transferable vote system. 2. List system. In India Single transferable vote system is adopted for the elections of Rajya Sabha / state legislative council / President /Vice-President
The Speaker of Lok sabha
- The Speaker of Lok sabha is elected by the Lok Sabha from amongst its members.
- The Speaker is the head of the Lok Sabha, and the guardian of powers and privileges of the members.
- He presides over a joint setting of the two Houses of Parliament. Such a sitting is summoned by the President (joint sitting is applicable to ordinary bills or financial bills only and not to money bills or Constitutional amendment bills).
- Bills passed by joint sitting -
- Dowry Prohibition Bill, 1960.
- Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill, 1977.
- Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002.
- He decides whether a bill is a money bill or not.
- He decides the questions of disqualification of a member of the Lok Sabha (Tenth Schedule).
- He is the ex-officio chairman of the Indian Parliamentary Group which is a link between the Parliament of India and the various parliaments of the world.
- He is the chairman of the Business Advisory Committee, the Rules Committee and the General Purpose Committee.
- He can only exercise a casting vote in the event of a tie.
Speaker Pro Tem
- Provided in the Constitution.
- The President appoints a member of the Lok Sabha as the Speaker Pro Tem (for the first sitting only). Usually, the senior most member.
Chairman of Rajya Sabha
- The presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha is the Chairman.
- The vice-president of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
- The powers and functions of the Chairman in the Rajya Sabha are similar to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
- Each House of Parliament has separate secretarial staff of its own.
- As per the Rules of Lok Sabha, the ‘Leader of the House’ means the prime minister. The leader of the house also in the Rajya sabha.
- The leader of the largest Opposition party having not less than one-tenth seats of the total strength of the House is recognised as the leader of the Opposition in that House(In the Both the houses).
Shadow Cabinet
- The British political system has an unique institution called the ‘Shadow Cabinet’.
- It is formed by the Opposition party to balance the ruling cabinet and to prepare its members for future ministerial offices.
- In this shadow cabinet, almost every member in the ruling cabinet is ‘shadowed’ by a corresponding member in the opposition cabinet.
- This shadow cabinet serves as the ‘alternate cabinet’ if there is change of government.
- Ivor Jennings described the leader of Opposition as the ‘alternative Prime Minister’. He enjoys the status of a minister and is paid by the government.
Sessions of parliament
1. Summoning
- The president from time to time summons each House of Parliament to meet.
- The maximum gap between two sessions of Parliament cannot be more than six months. The Parliament should meet at least twice a year.
- There are usually three sessions in a year,
1. the Budget Session (February to May);
2. the Monsoon Session (July to September); and
3. the Winter Session (November to December).2. Adjournment
- Suspends the work in a sitting for a specified time, which may be hours, days or weeks.
3. Adjournment sine die
- Terminating a sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period. The power lies with the presiding officer of the House.
4. Prorogation
- The President issues a notification for prorogation (Terminate the entire session) of the session.
5. Dissolution
- The Lok Sabha is subject to dissolution (Removal of Government).
6. Quorum
- Quorum is the minimum number of members required to be present in the House before it can transact any business.
7. Language in Parliament
- The Constitution has declared Hindi and English to be the languages for transacting business in the Parliament.
- The presiding officer can permit a member to address the House in his mother-tongue.
8. Ministers and Attorney General
- Every minister and the attorney general of India have the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of either House,
9. Lame-duck Session
- It refers to the last session of the existing Lok Sabha, after a new Lok Sabha has been elected.
Devices of parliamentary proceedings
1. Question Hour
- The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is slotted for this.
2. Zero Hour
- It is an informal device available to the members of the Parliament to raise matters without any prior notice.
- The zero hour starts immediately after the question hour.
3. Closure Motion
- It is a motion moved by a member to cut short the debate on a matter before the House.
4. Privilege Motion
- It is concerned with the breach of parliamentary privileges by a minister.
5. Calling Attention Motion
- It is introduced in the Parliament by a member to call the attention of a minister to a matter of urgent public importance
6. No-Confidence Motion
- Article 75 - the council of ministers are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha can remove the ministry from office by passing a no confidence motion.
- 50 members should support the motion.
7. Resolutions
- The members can move resolutions to draw the attention of the House or the government to matters of general public interest.
Bills of the Parliament-
- The bills introduced in the Parliament are of four categories:
- Ordinary bills (other than financial subjects).
- Money bills (financial matters like taxation, public expenditure).
- Financial bills (financial matters, but are different from money bills).
- Constitution amendment bills.
Budget in parliament
- The Constitution refers to the budget as the ‘annual financial statement’ (Article 112) . The term ‘budget’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution.
Financial year: 1 April - 31 March
The budget includes -
1. Estimates of revenue and capital receipts.
2. Ways and means to raise the revenue.
3. Estimates of expenditure.
4. Details of the actual receipts and expenditure of the closing financial year and the reasons for any deficit or surplus in that year.
5. Economic and financial policy of the coming year / introduction of new schemes/projects.Note: In 1924 Railway budget is separated from General budget. In 2017 both the Budget are merged.
Stages in Enactment of the Budget -
- Presentation of budget.
- General discussion.
- Scrutiny by departmental committees.
- Voting on demands for grants.
- Passing of appropriation bill.
- Passing of finance bill.
Funds
The Constitution of India provides for the following three kinds of funds for the Central government:
1. Consolidated Fund of India (Article 266)
2. Public Account of India (Article 266)
3. Contingency Fund of India (Article 267)Multifunctional role of parliament-
- Legislative Powers and Functions
- Executive Powers and Functions
- Financial Powers and Functions
- Constituent Powers and Functions
- Judicial Powers and Functions
- Electoral Powers and Functions
- Other powers and functions.
Important Articles-
79. Constitution of Parliament
83. Duration of Houses of Parliament
86. Right of President to address and send messages to Houses
88. Rights of Ministers and Attorney-General as respects Houses
89. The Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Council of States
93. The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of the People
98. Secretariat of Parliament
102. Disqualifications for membership
108. Joint sitting of both Houses in certain cases
110. Definition of “Money Bills”
111. Assent to Bills
112. Annual financial statement
123. Power of President to promulgate Ordinances.

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