¢ CHAPTER VI THE LAW-MAKING PROCESS-I THE UNION body at the Centre is the Parliament which consists of two Houses — the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. A. THE LOK SABHA Composition : The Lower House of the Parliament of India is called the ‘Lok Sabha’ which is the representative body of the people. The maximum number of members of this House can be 550-— (a) not more than five hundred and thirty members chosen by direct election from States, and (b) not more than twenty members to represent the Union Territories. The present strength of the Lok Sabha is 545 (543 elected and 2 Zromingted Qualifications of the Members—In order to seek election to the Lok Sabha a person must possess the following qualifi- cations : (i) He should be a citizen of India. (ii) He should have acquired 25 years of age. Gii) He should not be a proclaimed offender. (iv) He should not be holding an office of profit under the government. (¥) He should not be a proclaimed insolvent. (vi) He should have his name in the electoral rolls in any part of the country.) - Elections and Working of the Lok Sabha — The Lok Sabha is normally elected for five years) It may be dissolved by the President before the expiry of its te its life can be increased by 6 months at a tine 74h 2 g 121 PARLIAMENT in abnormal conditions subject to a maximum of 3 years. For the purpose of elections the whole country is divided into constituencies. Each constituency consists of several Jakhs of people. Every adult of 18 years of age or above has béen given thé Tight to vote Votes are cast on the basis of secret ballot which means nobody can judge in whose favour the voter has cast his vote. After election to the Parliament every member of the Parliament has to take an oath of faith and loyalty to the Constitution of Can you tell who is the member of the Parliament from your locality ?; The President addresses the members of e two Houses together once a year. There are generally three sessions of the Parliament in a year; if need be a special session may also be held. The Constitution has laid down that the interval between two sessions of the Parliament should not exceed six months. The business of the Parliament is conducted either in English or in Hindi but in certain cases if a member does not know either of the two languages the speaker can allow him to express himself in his own mother tongue. The Quorum of the Lok Sabha is one- tenth of the total strength of its members. It means it cannot function unless one-tenth of its total members are present.) The first hour of each day’s sitting is reserved"as Question-Hour when members— oe PORT LAR Bees Karaikal % Pondenern ANDAMAN oe cea SEA i 5 ateememn| B+ y =e BG | % rant . = Tamuinnwnaeu % srl mS INDIAN OCEAN _|LANKA A i ae ie 7 INDIA POLITICAL PAKISTAN RAJASTHAN aun, MADHYA ono. PRADESH BAY OF BENGAL ‘Yanam \eendatery) D&D-DAMAN& DIU D&N.H.-DADRA& NAGAR HAVEL! ee am PONDICHERRY (Puduchehe) 7 INDIA IS A UNION OF STATES. THERE ARE 28 STATES AND 7 UNION TERRITORIES.) 122of the Parliament can draw the attention of the House to matters of utmost importance. Thereafter other matters are taken up. ] ‘Tine Speaker of the Lok Sabha — After the general elections are over and the Lok Sabha is duly constituted with a declaration by the Election Commission, the first thing for the Lok Sabha to do is to elect its Chairman and Vice-Chairman, popularly known as the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker respectively. The Deputy Speaker acts as the Speaker when the latter is pot present. Pimise Who is at present the Speaker of the Lok Sabha ? ‘The Speaker performs various important ~ functions. He presides over the meetings of the Lok Sabha. Resolutions or bills can be moved only-with his permission. He allows time to the members to speak in the House. He can ‘adjourn the meetings of the Lok Sabha. He calls for vote on the bills as well as on other motions. He presides over joint sessions of both the Houses of the Parliament. He decides whether a particular bill is a Money Bill or not. He has a casting vote in case of a deadlock. He can suspend a member from the House for misconduct. He yd appoints various Parliamentary Committees and guides them in their work. It is his duty to safeguard the privileges of the members of the House. He can adjourn the House if it lacks quorum. He has the final say to decide whether a quéstion, put up by a member during the Question Hour, is to be allowed or not. He admits various motions, i.e. Motions for Adjournment or No-Confidence Motions, etc. ifhe finds them in order under 5 a, 4 Dh ss THE RAJYA SABHA Composition, The Upper House of the Parliament of Tadia is popularly known as the Rajya Sabhaj It represents the federating states of the Indian Union as is the case with the Senate of the U.S.A. But while the cofistitiiénit units of the U.S.A. have an equal representation of two members each fn the Senate, the representation of Indian States in the Rajya Sabha differs from State to State ~ on the basis of their respective populations. [fhe maximum strength of thé Rajya Sabha Gan be 250 members},,(a) not more than two, hundred and thirfytight representatives of ~The States and of the Union Territories; and (b) twelve members nominated by the President from amongst the men of repute in various spheres of life, e.g. Science, Art, Technology, etc. At present the Rajya Sabha THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE 123 x1 an / has 245 memb by the State; members are The Rajy It cannot be di ers— 233 of them are elected S of the Union and twelve nominated by the President. Sabha is a permanent house. ssolved like the Lok Sabha Each member of the Rajya Sabha is elected for a period of six years. One-third of the (otal members of the House retire after every {wo years. Members can be re-elected if they So desire and if their electors want it] For membership to the Rajya Sabha, » candidate must possess certain qualifica- tions : (i) He must be a citizen of India. Gi) He should be 30 years of age. (iii) He should not be a proclaimed offender. (iv) He should not hold any office of profit under the Government. (v) His name should be in the voter list of the State from which he is seeking election. ) ke the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabhaalso has a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman, The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha elects its Deputy Chairman from amongst its own members. The duties of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha are the same as those of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The Deputy Chairman acts as the Chairman of the House when the latter is not present e, x RS AND FUNCTIONS +!) THE PARLIAMENT Bee th imary function of the (( Although the primary ‘ Galton js law-making, our Parliament laxy of other functions has. to perform a gal: tooy : 1.{Law-making Funetio frame§ new laws, and amen ns — (a) It s or repeals them, if necessary, on all the 97 Subjects of the Union List and all the Residuary Subjects which have not found a place in any of the lists. (b) Invcertain-eases; it can enact laws on the Subjects of the State Li: (c) The Parliament along with the State Legislature can pass laws regarding the 47 Subjects on the Concurrent List. In case of any clash, the law passed by the Parliament shall prevail, (a) The Union Parliament hase sole right to amend the Constitution Jalthough in certain cases, these amendments should be ratified by a majority of the States. The States can, inno case, initiate an amendment to the Constitution. 2. Control on the National Finance — ‘The Union Parliamentis the custodfanof the national purse. Neither a penny can be spent on any item nor a paisa can be collected by way of taxes without the prior approval of the Parliament. The Parliament passes the Budget of the Union Government, It is, however, empowered to vote a cut in the Budget or to reject it altogether. Thus, the Parliament acts as the controller of the national finance. 3. Control over the Government or the Executive — The most important function of the Parliament is to exercise control over the Government.[(a) The Government is directly responsible to the Parliament for its acts of omission and commission} If the Government flouts the Constitution, it can be voted out of office by passing a vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister or the Ministry as a whole or any of its members. (b) The members of the Parliament can move an adjournment motion on any urgent matter requiring an immediate attention of the Government) If such a motion is admitted, the Minister in charge 124 Toof such a department, where any untoward event has happened, is reprimanded _for the flaws or failure of his ministry. (¢) Then again, an hour a day in the daily routine of the Parliameni when in session, is reserved for asking questions from the Government,| The members can ask any question relating to the administration of the State and the Ministers are obliged to answer them, In this way, they can keep a check‘ on the functioning of the various departments under different ministers, (d) Not only this, the Parliament can hold the strings of the Government tight by voting a cut in the annual budget. ‘The salaries and allowances of the Ministers are decided by the Parliament, 4, Judicial Functions — The Parliament enjoys certain judicial powers also. It can impeach the President, a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court in case they are found counteracting against the Constitution or misusing their status or indulging in corruption of any nature. 5. Electoral Functions — (The Parliament plays an important role in the election of the President and the Vice- President. ) ech VG RELATIONSHIP BETW A TWO HOUSES OF THE ay x PARLIAMENT (theoretically speaking, the Lok Sgbha ). and the Rajya Sabha enjoy equal pomer ~ We cannot overlook the fact that the Fok Sabha represents the people and is elected by the people} On the other hand, the Rajya Sabha repreSents the States of the Indian Union and its members are elected indirectly by the members of the State Legislative Assemblies. They never have to go to the Oe THE \%* - people. In such a situation, it is but natural that the Lok Sabha is given a clear upper hand in almost all matters concerning the Parliament. We shall discuss their relations asunder. ') “]\. WM itference over the Legislative Matters — Legislative enactments belong to two categories — (a) Ordinary Bills and (6) Money Bills. (a) Ordinary Bills — An Ordinary Bill can originate in either House of the Parliament and must be passed by both the Houses of the Parliament before going in for the President’s assent. But in case of a deadlock between the two Houses over bill, it is to be resolved in ajoint session of both the Houses with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha in the Chair, As the membership of the Lok Sabha is more than double the membership of the Rajya Sabha, itis the will of the Lok Sabha that prevails on the strength of its majority in the joint session) (b){Money Bills — In case of Money Bills, the Rajya Sabha has been given virtually no powers. Firstly, a Money Bill can originate only in the Lok Sabha. Secondly, when any Money Bill is passed by the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha has no power whatsoever to make a change in it against the will of the Lok Sabha. It can, at the most, delay a Money Bill by sitting over it for fourteen days. After the expiry of the period, the bill is supposed to be passed by the Rajya Sabha and can bé senit for the President’s signatures) (—<~ 2. Ge = The Union Parliament exercises its control over the Union Government in a number of ways. Both the Houses of the Parliament have equal rights of asking questions or bringingim various kinds of motions against the Government. But here again, the Lok Sabha has the real say. The Council of Ministers is Primarily responsible to the Lok Sabha!’ A Vote of no-confidence, passed in the Rajya Sabha, does not oblige the Government to tesign but a similar vote passed in the Lok Sabha makes it obligatory for the Government to quit) HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW ? Acts, before they are passed by the Parliament, are called bills. Bills are of two types— (a) Ordinary Bills, ‘and (b) Money Bills. Ordinary Bills are those in which money is not involved while all such bills which are related to income and expenditure are called Money Bills. With a little difference in procedure, both the Ordinary Bills and Money Bills have to pass through various stages before they are passed. First is the Stage of Introduction. The Money Bills can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha while Ordinary Bills can be introduced in either of the two Houses of the Parliament. Then comes the Second Stage when the Bill is debated id amendments, ifany, and that too passed by a majority vote, are included in it, In the Third Stage, the Bill is either passed or rejected as a whole. If passed, it is sent to the other House where the same procedure is adopted once again. If the Bill is passed by the second House also, it is sent to the President for his approval. Afier his assent, it becomes a ws Ans Ax How can one become a member of the 2. 3. 4. What is the maximum number of membe 5. How are members of the Rajya Sabha elected 7 a DIVISION OF SUBJECTS BETWEEN THE CENTRE AND THE STATES ” The Constitution has set up a federal type of government in India. As such, the powers between the Centre and the States have been well defined. All the subjects, on which the laws can be made, have been divided into the Union List, the State List and the Concurrent List. There are nearly 97 Subjects in the Union List on which only the Parliament can make laws. The most important Subjects included in this list are ; (1) Railways; (2) Foreign Affairs; (3) Army; (4) Telephones; (5) Posts and Telegraphs;\6) Coinage; (7) Banking and Currency, eté, There are about 66 Subjects in the State List on which the State Governments make laws. The most important Subjects in this list include : (1) Police; (2) Hospitals; (3) Sanitation: (4) Agriculture; (5) Irrigation; (6) Health; (7) Education etc, Besides these, there are about 47 Subjects in the Concurrent List on which both the Parliament and State Legislatures have the power to make laws. But the laws passed by the Centre on these subjects shall Prevail over the laws passed by the State Legislatures. The most important Subjects included in the Congurrent List are : (1) Marriages; (2) Medical; (3) Newspapers; (4) Labour Welfare; (5) Civil and Criminal Procedures; (6) Factories and (7) Electricity, etc, : EY ces aon \~ wer the following questions upto 40 words each : How are the members of Lok Sabha elected? @Y Describe essential qualifications for a person to be a memt THE PEOPLE off -y 0 of the Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha ? ? fers of the Lok 7 and the Rajya Sabha ? 126 coum’6. Describe any two legislative powers of the Parliament. 7. Narrate any two judicial powers of the Parliament. 8. Name five Subjects of the Union List. I. Answer the following questions upto 100 words each : 1. What ere the Powers and functions of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha 7 In what way is the Lok Sabha more powerful than the Rajya Sabha ? How does the Parliament exercise control over the Executive ? What are the functions of the Indian Parliament ? How does a bill become a law 7 open Ml. Tick-mark (¥) the correct Statements and cross-mark (x) the wrong ones : (i) The Rajya Sabha is presided over by the Vice-President of India. (ii) The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the people. (il) The Rajya Sabha is a permanent House. (iv) A Money Bill can be initiated in the Rajya Sabha. (v) The minimum age for the membership of the Lok Sabha is 30 years. AV. Choose the correct word / words given in the brackets to fill in the blanks : ... Seats in the Rajya Sabha. (238,233,245) 1. The different States have been allocated .... ~ AS KA 2. The President can nominate . members in the Lok Sabha. (2, 3, 4) 3. The President can nominate . members in the Rajya Sabha, (11, 12, 13) 4. Aperson should have acquired the age of . .. to become a member of the Lok soak (18, 21, 25) THINGS TO DO: Tell who is the Member of the Parliament from your area. Meet him and give a pen-picture of the work done by him in five lines,