RBSE Class 12 Political Science Notes Chapter 20 Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

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Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12 Political Science Notes Chapter 20 Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

Parliament:

  • In any democratic regime, the government has three parts : The Executive, Legislature , and Judiciary.
  • The Legislature is called by different names in different countries. For example, it is known as Parliament in Britain, Congress in The USA, National Diet in Japan, Bundestag in Germany, Shoora in Afghanistan, and Majlis in Iran. In India it is known as the Parliament.
  • The President is not only the constitutional head of the Indian union’s executive, but he is also an integral part of the Parliament.
  • In Rigveda, we get reference of two bodies named as ‘Sabha’ and ‘Samiti’, from which the beginning of the modem
  • Parliament can be traced.
  • Representative systems and autonomous democratic institutions have been present in India since ancient times.

Background:

  • During the British rale, the Parliamentary practices were started in limited and basically in an unanswerable way through different acts.
  • By the Indian government Act 1919, bicameral legislature was introduced, and now the legislature would have two houses in place of one: one was called the Council of States and the other one was the Legislative Assembly.

Composition of Parliament:

  • The Parliament is formed by article 79 of the constitution. According to it, besides the President, the Parliament will have two houses; the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), and the House of People (Lok Sabha).

Qualifications and Disqualifications of the Members of the Parliament:

  • A person should be a citizen of India to become a member of Lok Sabha. And minimum ago should be 25 years.
  • To become the member of Rajya Sabha, a person should be a citizen of India. And minimum age should be 30 years.
  • Any insolvent or mentally retarded or mentally unsound person cannot be a member of the Parliament.
  • An individual cannot be a member of both the houses of the Parliament.
  • Any person can contest the elections on maximum two seats. If he / she is elected on both, he / she has to choose one, and has to vacate the other seat within a month.
  • According to the 10th schedule of the constitution, the member of the Parliament may be disqualified if he / she is found guilty of changing the party after winning the election.

Oath:

  • All the members of the Parliament, called MPs or Parliamentarians, take an oath before the President or such person as appointed by him for this purpose, before taking the charge of their office and sign the documents.

Sessions of Parliament:

  • The Parliament of India conducts three sessions in a year. They are
    • Budget Session (February to May),
    • Monsoon Session (July to September), and
    • Winter Session (November to December).
  • Right to adjourn both the houses during the functioning of the Parliament lies with the speaker in Lok Sabha, and the Deputy chairman in Rajya Sabha, but the right to dissolve the houses during a session lies with the President.

Quorum:

  • A quorum is the minimum number of members of an assembly, necessary to conduct the proceedings of the
  • Parliament to gets legality.
  • It is at least one tenth part of the total members of the house, including the presiding officer.
  • The lower house has total membership of 545 and hence at least 55 members are necessary to be present for the proceedings, and for the proceeding of the upper house, at least 25 members (total members are 245) should be present.

Language of the Parliament:

  • According to the constitution, Hindi and English are the official languages of the union. The presiding officer can permit the member to speak in his/her mother tongue if he/she cannot express his/her views in Hindi or English.

Powers of Ministers and Advocate General:

  • In article 88 of the Indian constitution, it is stipulated that every minister and advocate general has the right to participate in the proceedings of die Parliament and to present his views in any of the two houses of the Parliament.
  • The Advocate general doesn’t have the right to cast his vote in the Parliament, and the ministers can cast their vote only in the House to which he / she belongs.

Composition of Rajya Sabha:

  • Rajya Sabha is also known as the upper House of the Parliament or the permanent House or the council of states.
  • The Rajya Sabha was formed under article 80 of the constitution, according to which, its total number of members will be 250, of whom 12 members will be nominated by the President, who should be having special knowledge or practical experience in the field of literature, science, arts or social service.
  • The idea of nomination of distinguished persons by the President in Rajya Sabha has been taken from the constitution of Ireland.
  • Remaining 238 members are elected from the states and the Union Territories.
  • The total number of the members of the Rajya Sabha at present is fixed as 245, out of which 229 members are elected from different states and 4 members are elected from the Union Territories, while 12 members are nominated by the President.
  • The number of seats of states and Union Territories in the Upper House are allocated according to the population of that place, as directed by the fourth schedule.
  • 31 members are elected in the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, and only 1 member each from the states like Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, etc, 10 members axe elected from Rajasthan, While only 1 representative is in the Rajya Sabha from the Union Territories.
  • In India, all the Sates have not been granted equal representation in the Upper House like the senate (Upper House of American Congress).

Election of Members of Rajya Sabha:

  • According to the constitution, the representatives of each state to the Rajya Sabha shall be elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of the state in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.
  • The responsibility of the election to the Rajya Sabha lies with the Election Commission of India.

Tenure of Rajya Sabha:

  • Rajya Sabha is a permanent house.
  • The tenure of the members of the Rajya Sabha was not decided by the constitution, it was left to the will of the
  • Parliament.
  • The Parliament decided the tenure of the members of the Rajya Sabha as 6 years under the representation of People Act 1951.

Officials of Rajya Sabha:

  • According to the article 64 and 89 of the constitution, the Vice-President of India is the Ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, though he is not a member of the Rajya Sabha. He presides over its sessions.
  • According to article 89, besides the chairman, a Deputy-Chairman is also appointed in the Rajya Sabha, who is elected from amongst the house members.
  • When the Vice-President officiates as the acting President or remains absent from the house, the Deputy- Chairman presides over the meetings of the Rajya Sabha.

Composition of Lok Sabha:

  • The Lok Sabha is the Lower House of India’s bicameral Parliament. It is also known as the popular House of the Parliament. It was formed according to the article 81 of the constitution.
  • At present, the total number of the members of the Lok Sabha is 545, out of which 530 members are elected from different states and 13 members are elected from the Union Territories and two members are nominated by the President of India.
  • The total elective membership is distributed among the states in proportion to their population. That’s why 80 members of the Lok Sabha are elected from Uttar Pradesh and 48 members are from Maharashtra, and 25 members are from Rajasthan.

Election of Members of Lok Sabha:

  • Sardar Patel worked hard to persuade the representatives of minorities to abolish the communal electoral system. Finally, now in independent India, the members of the Parliament are directly elected by the people on the basis of universal suffrage.
  • According to the article 326, the adult citizens of India, who are 18 years or more of age, and whose name is registered in the voter list, can cast their vote to elect the members of the Parliament. The candidate who secures the maximum votes, is declared an elected representative.
  • Provision has been made in the constitution for reservation of constituencies in favour of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe candidates also. At present, 84 seats are reserved for scheduled caste candidates and 47 seats are reserved for scheduled tribe candidates.

Tenure of Lok Sabha:

  • According to article 83 of the constitution, the tenure of Lok Sabha will be five years from the date fixed for its first meeting. After the end of five years, it will dissolve automatically.
  • According to article 85, the President can dissolve the House at any time. The President dissolves the House on the advice of the Prime Minister.
  • In the case of emergency, the tenure of the Lok Sabha can be extended for one year. This has been done in 1976-77.

Lok Sabha Speaker and Deputy Speaker:

  • According to article 93 of the constitution, the Lok Sabha elects its two members as the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.
  • The Speaker can hand over his resignation to the Deputy Speaker or vice-versa.
  • The members of Lok Sahba can remove the speaker and deputy speaker by a resolution passed by absolute majority (majority of the total members of the House). However, a 14-day advance notice must be given for such resolution.
  • According to the article 110 of the constitution, the speaker has the right that if there is any confusion on a bill whether it is a money bill or an ordinary one, in that condition, the speaker’s decision will be the final verdict.
  • Ganesh Vasudev Mavlankar was the first speaker and Anand Shayanam Iyenger was the first Deputy Speaker of independent India.

Functions of Parliament:

  • Following are the main functions of the Indian Parliament:
    • Legislation
    • The bill in the second house
    • Joint session of both the houses
    • Permission of the President for presentation of a bill
    • To pass the money bill
    • Amendments in constitution
    • Control over the executive
    • Election of President and vice-President, and their removal from their post.
  • According to the article 108, the President has the right to invite a joint session of both the houses to decide upon the bill.
  • According to article 111, the assent of the President results in the enactment of the bill into a law. The President can return the bill to the Parliament for further discussion, but if the Parliament again sends the bill to the President with or without any amendment, then the President is bound to give his assent on the bill.
  • Article 109 describes the procedure of framing a money bill and article 110 describes its passing. The money bill cannot be presented in the Rajya Sabha.
  • The money bill is a government bill (not a non-government bill) in nature.
  • Constitutional amendment bill can be presented in any of the houses of the Parliament, but it is essential that it should be passed by both the houses separately, and there is no provision of conducting joint session in it.
  • After being passed separately by both the houses, the constitutional amendment bill is considered passed by the President. The President cannot deny to give his consent on this bill.
  • The bills are of three types : ordinary bill, money bill, and constitutional amendment bill .
  • Whereas, Lok Sabha has a Supreme power over Rajya Sabha in the matter of ordinary bill and the money bill, at the same time, both the houses have same powers in regard of the constitutional amendment bills, because if one house passes this bill and the other refuses to pass it, then constitutional amendment bill is considered as void.
  • To control the executive in its day-to-day functioning is the function of the representative assembly of the people (Parliament).

Important Dates and Related Events Given in the Chapter:
RBSE Class 12 Political Science Notes Chapter 20 Parliament, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha 1

RBSE Class 12 Political Science Notes Chapter 20 Important Terms and Individuals

  • Sansad (Parliament) : In India, Legislature is called Sansad (Parliament). It has two houses : (i) The Lok Sabha and (ii) The Rajya Sabha.
  • Legislature : This is an important organ of the government. Its main function is enactment of laws. It also controls the executive and the judiciary and also keeps a check on the finance of the state.
  • Rajya Sabha : The upper House of Indian Parliament. Its members are elected indirectly for a period of six years. This is a permanent house.
  • Lok Sabha : The Lower House of Indian Parliament. Its members are elected direcdy by the people of India for 5 Years. It can be dissolved before this tenure also.
  • The Rigveda : This is the oldest text. It is written in verse form. The other Vedas are : Yajurveda, Samveda and Atharvaveda.
  • President: The head of any nation. He is the constitutional head.
  • Parliamentary Government System : The system of government in which the actual powers of the President of the executive Eire used by the union cabinet under the leadership of Prime minister, is called Parliamentary government system.
  • Oath : Before joining the post or office, the concerned people take EUI oath to deliver their official responsibilities as per the law.
  • Quorum : A quorum, is the minimum number of members of an Assembly, necessary to conduct the proceedings of the PEirliament. To make the proceeding legal, their presence is essential. In every House, this is the one-tenth pEirt of the total number of members of the House including the Presiding officer.
  • Presiding officer : The officers who preside over the sessions of the Parliament are called presiding officers. In Lok Sabha, it is the speaker, and in Rajya Sabha, it is the chairman.
  • Chief Justice : The Supreme judicial officer of the government of India. He has the right to speak and participate in the proceedings of any house of the Parliament but he can’t cast his vote. He is appointed by the President of India.
  • Single transferable vote system : The President of India is indirecdy elected through a specific process by an electoral college comprising the Parliament of India (both houses), and the legislative assemblies of each of India’s states and union territories. The process of election is called single transferable vote system.
  • Vice-President : The post was established by article 63 of Indian constitution. He is the Ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. His tenure is 5 years. He takes the charge of post of the President in his absence.
  • Select committee : Select committee is the most important committee of all the Adhoc committees. The committee is formed to debate on any particular bill.
  • Local self- government: Local self government means the government of that local level in which the government is run by those members who are elected by the local people. And they, working under the central and the state governments, are given rights and responsibilities to fulfil the needs of the local citizens.
  • Vidhan mandal : The state legislature is called Vi^than mandal. It has two houses :
    • Legislative Assembly, and
    • Legislative Council. In severed states of India, there is bicameral or unicameral state legislature.
  • Constitutional Amendment: Due to change in the circumstances of the country and to fulfil the ambitions of its people, amendment in the constitution may be needed which is called constitutional amendment.
  • Constitution Amendment Bill : The bill related to amendments in the constitution. It is necessary to pass it in both the houses of the Parliament separately. Both the houses have equal powers regarding this bill.
  • Question Hour : In PEirliament, every day, the first hour (11:00 A.M. : 12:00 P.M.) of Parliamentary proceeding is called the Question Hour. During this time the members can seek any information from the government regarding nationEd and international issues through their questions.
  • Zero Hour : The time gap between the question hour and agenda is known as Zero hour. It is not mentioned in the rules of procedure. Thus it is an informal device available to members ofParliament to raise matters without any 10-day prior notice. This is because generally the matters that are of public interest, and emergent public matters cannot wait for 10 days.
  • Calling Attention Motion : A member may, with prior permission of the speaker, call the attention of a minister to any matter of urgent .public importance, and the Minister may make a brief statement regarding the matter or ask for time to make a statement.
  • Council of Ministers : In Parliamentary government system, a group of ministers under thePrime Minister is called council of minsters. According to the 91st constitutional amendment, the total number of ministers in the council of ministers, should not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha. ,
  • Law : Any bill passed by the Parliament and with the consent of the President of India, is called law.
  • Legislative Assembly : The lower house of the state legislature is called the Legislative Assembly. Its members are called MLAs (Member of Legislative Assembly). They are elected by the voters of the concerned constituencies (area) on the basis of adult franchise. Its tenure is 5 years.
  • Kautilya : He is also called Chanakya or Vishnugupta. He authored the ancient Indian political treatise. ‘The Arthashastra’, on state-crait, economic policy, and military strategy. He was a great diplomat.
  • Panini : He was an ancient Sanskrit philologist, grammarian, and a revered scholar of Hinduism. He is considered the father of Indian linguistics. He created a systematic grammar in his “Ashatadhyayi” on the basis of 14 Mahashwar Sutras. He belonged to the Vedic period.
  • Sardar Patel : His full name was Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. He was the first Deputy Prime Minister of independent India. He was also the first Home Minister of free India.

RBSE Class 12 Political Science Notes