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Parliament is the supreme legislative
body of a country. Our Parliament comprises of the President
and the two Houses-Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya
Sabha (Council of States). The President has the power to summon
and prorogue either House of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha.
The Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950.
The first general elections under the new Constitution were
held during the year 1951-52 and the first elected Parliament
came into being in April, 1952, the Second Lok Sabha in April,
1957, the Third Lok Sabha in April, 1962, the Fourth Lok Sabha
in March, 1967, the Fifth Lok Sabha in March, 1971, the Sixth
Lok Sabha in March, 1977, the Seventh Lok Sabha in January,
1980, the Eighth Lok Sabha in December, 1984, the Ninth Lok
Sabha in December, 1989, the Tenth Lok Sabha in June, 1991,
the Eleventh Lok Sabha in May, 1996, the Twelfth Lok Sabha in
March, 1998 and Thirteenth Lok Sabha in October, 1999.
LOK SABHA
Lok Sabha, as the name itself signifies, is the body of representatives
of the people. Its members are directly elected, normally once
in every five years by the adult population who are eligible
to vote. The minimum qualifying age for membership of the House
is 25 years. The present membership of Lok Sabha is 545. The
number is divided among the different States and Union Territories
as follows: |
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Name of the State |
Seats No. |
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(1) Andhra
Pradesh
(2) Arunachal Pradesh
(3) Assam
(4) Bihar
(5) Chhattisgarh
(6) Goa
(7) Gujarat
(8) Haryana
(9) Himachal Pradesh
(10) Jammu & Kashmir
(11) Jharkhand
(12) Karnataka
(13) Kerala
(14) Madhya Pradesh
(15) Maharashtra
(16) Manipur
(17) Meghalaya
(18) Mizoram
(19) Nagaland
(20) Orissa
(21) Punjab
(22) Rajasthan
(23) Sikkim
(24) Tamil Nadu
(25) Tripura
(26) Uttaranchal
(27) Uttar Pradesh
(28) West Bengal
(29) Andaman & Nicobar Islands
(30) Chandigarh
(31) Dadra & Nagar Haveli
(32) Daman & Diu
(33) NCT of Delhi
(34) Lakshadweep
(35) Pondicherry
(36) |
42
2
14
40
11
2
26
10
4
6
14
28
20
29
48
2
2
1
1
21
13
25
1
39
2
5
80
42
1
1
1
1
7
1
1
Anglo-Indians (if nominated 2 by the President under Article
331 of the Constitution) |
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RAJYA
SABHA
Rajya Sabha is the Upper House of Parliament. It has not
more than 250 members. Members of Rajya Sabha are not
elected by the people directly but indirectly by the Legislative
Assemblies of the various States. Every State is allotted
a certain number of members. No member of Rajya Sabha
can be under 30 years of age.
Twelve of Rajya Sabha members are nominated by the President
from persons who have earned distinction in the fields
of literature, art, science and social service.
Rajya Sabha is a permanent body. It is not subject to
dissolution but one-third of its members retire every
two years. Rajya Sabha was duly constituted for the first
time on April 3, 1952 and it held its first sitting on
May 13, that year.
There are at present 245 members in Rajya Sabha, distributed
among different States and Union Territories as follows: |
| |
Name of the State |
Seats No. |
| |
(1) Andhra Pradesh
(2) Arunachal Pradesh
(3) Assam
(4) Bihar
(5) Chhattisgarh
(6) Goa
(7) Gujarat
(8) Haryana
(9) Himachal Pradesh
(10) Jammu & Kashmir
(11) Jharkhand
(12) Karnataka
(13) Kerala
(14) Madhya Pradesh
(15) Maharashtra
(16) Manipur
(17) Meghalaya
(18) Mizoram
(19) Nagaland
(20) Orissa
(21) Punjab
(22) Rajasthan
(23) Sikkim
(24) Tamil Nadu
(25) Tripura
(26) Uttaranchal
(27) Uttar Pradesh
(28) West Bengal
(29) NCT of Delhi
(30) Pondicherry
(31) Nominated by the President under 12 Article 80(1)(a)
of the Constitution |
18
1
7
16
5
1
11
5
3
4
6
12
9
11
19
1
1
1
1
10
7
10
1
18
1
3
31
16
3
1 |
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Presiding
Officers
Lok Sabha elects one of its own members as its Presiding
Officer and he is called the Speaker. He is assisted by
the Deputy Speaker who is also elected by Lok Sabha. The
conduct of business in Lok Sabha is the responsibility
of the Speaker.
The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman
of Rajya Sabha. He is elected by the members of an electoral
college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament.
Rajya Sabha also elects one of its members to be the Deputy
Chairman.
Functions of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
The main function of both the Houses is to pass laws.
Every Bill has to be passed by both the Houses and assented
to by the President before it becomes law. The subjects
over which Parliament can legislate are the subjects mentioned
under the Union List in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution
of India. Broadly speaking, Union subjects are those important
subjects which for reasons of convenience, efficiency
and security are administered on all-India basis. The
principal Union subjects are Defence, Foreign Affairs,
Railways, Transport and Communications, Currency and Coinage,
Banking, Customs and Excise Duties. There are numerous
other subjects on which both Parliament and State Legislatures
can legislate.
Under this category mention may be made of economic and
social planning, social security and insurance, labour
welfare, price control and vital statistics.
Besides passing laws, Parliament can by means of resolutions,
motions for adjournment, discussions and questions addressed
by members to Ministers exercise control over the administration
of the country and safeguard people's liberties.
Difference between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
(1) Members of Lok Sabha are directly elected by the eligible
voters. Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected
members of State Legislative Assemblies in accordance
with the system of proportional representation by means
of single transferable vote.
(2) The normal life of every Lok Sabha is 5 years only
while Rajya Sabha is a permanent body.
(3) Lok Sabha is the House to which the Council of Ministers
is responsible under the Constitution. Money Bills can
only be introduced in Lok Sabha. Also it is Lok Sabha
which grants the money for running the administration
of the country.
(4) Rajya Sabha has special powers to declare that it
is necessary and expedient in the national interest that
Parliament may make laws with respect to a matter in the
State List or to create by law one or more all-India services
common to the Union and the States. |
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