LEGISLATURE

Vocabulary

 Zero Hour – It refers to that period which follows the

question hour, where members raise any issue of public

importance on a very short notice or without notice.

 Question hour – It is an instrument of exercising control

over executive. The first hour of business of a house everyday is

devoted to questions and this is called question hour. During this

hour the ministers have to respond to the questions raised by the

members.

 Bicameral legislature – A system of government in which

the legislature is divided into two chambers, an upper and lower

house.

 Delegated legislation – Delegated legislation (also referred

to as secondary legislation or subordinate legislation) is law made

by an executive authority under powers given to them by primary

legislation in order to implement and administer the requirements

of that primary legislation.

 Joint session – A joint session is when two normally-

separate decision-making groups meet together for a specific

purpose.

 No Confidence Motion – It is a parliamentary

motion traditionally put before a parliament by the opposition in

the hope of defeating or weakening a government.

 Quorum - The minimum number of members necessary for

the conduct of proceedings is 1/10 of the total membership of a

house (including the speaker). This is known as Quorum.

 Budget – It is the annual financial statement of the

government. It is a statement of the estimated receipt and

expenditure of the Government of India for the following financial

year. It is presented in the Lok Sabha.

 Bill – A Bill is a legislative proposal brought before the

House for its approval. It is a draft of the proposed law. Bills can

be classified under four heads; Ordinary Bill, Money Bill, Financial

Bill and Constitutional Amendment Bill. Money and Financial bill

cannot be introduced in Rajya Sabha. They can only be introduced

in Lok Sabha. The other bills can be introduced in either house of

the parliament.

 Parliamentary Committees – They are appointed by the

respective House themselves or nominated by their presiding

officers. Their main function is to assist the Parliament in its

discussions.

 Ordinary bill – Any bill which does not deal with money is

called ordinary bill. It can be introduced either in the Lok Sabha or

Rajya Sabha.

 Money bill – It deals with money income, expenditure, loan,

taxes, etc. It can be introduced only in Lok Sabha.

 2 marks

Mention the areas where Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha share

equal powers.

Passing of non-money bills, constitutional amendments,

impeaching the president and removing Vice President etc, are the

areas where Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha share equal powers.

Name the authority which coordinates with the Legislature and

Executive in India.

Judiciary in India is an authority which coordinates with the

Legislature and the Executive.

Under the Indian Constitution which is a supreme institution of

the people?

The Parliament of India under the Constitution is a supreme

institution of the people and a symbol of their sovereignty. It is our

institutional mechanism for political and socio-economic change.

Which is the most powerful Upper House of the world?

Senate (Upper House of U.S.A) is the most powerful Upper House

of the world. In fact it is referred as the '' strongest second chamber

of the world ''.

Who is an integral part of the Indian Legislature?

The President is an integral part of Indian legislature. A legislature

is that branch of the government which is concerned with the

enactment of laws. The Constitution of India has provided for

bicameral legislature based on the British pattern. The main

function of legislature is to make laws, amend the constitution,

approve the ordinances, supervise and control executive etc.

“The composition of Senate is based on the federal principles”.

Comment

The composition of Senate is based on the federal principle, i.e.

equality among unequal states. All the states have equal

representation i.e. states irrespective of their population sends two

representatives each to the house of Senate.

Mention the qualifications for the membership of the upper

house of the Indian Parliament.

Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the Indian Parliament. The

qualifications for the membership of Rajya Sabha are:

 Citizen of India.

 Not be less than 30 years of age.

 The person must have registered as a voter in any

Parliamentary constituency of a state from where he contests for

Rajya Sabha

How Parliament becomes the people's institution?

Through elections based on universal adult franchise Parliament

becomes the people's institution.

Mention two states that have more representation in the

Parliament.

Since the number of representative to the Rajya Sabha depends on

the state's population, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have more

representation in the Parliament.

 4 marks

How does the Indian parliament exercises its control over the

executive?

The parliament controls the executive in the following ways:

 The prime minister and other ministers are the members of

the parliament and are collectively responsible to the parliament.

 '' No Confidence motion'' is an important tool in the hands of

the parliament.

 The Prime Minister along with the Council of Ministers are

being questioned on various policy issues.

 Through financial control and approval or refusal of laws the

Parliament can control the executive.

“Some of the special powers are assigned to the Rajya Sabha as

well”. Comment

Special powers of Rajya Sabha include:

 Resolution for the removal of Vice President can originate

only in Rajya Sabha.

 If Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a majority of not less

than two thirds of the members present, voting that it is necessary

or expedient in the national interest that parliament should make

laws with respect to any matter enumerated in the state list, then

parliament can make law for the whole or any part of the territory

of India.

 If Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a majority of two thirds

of the members present and voting that it is necessary or expedient

in the national interest, to create one or more all India services,

the parliament by law may provide for such service or services.

“Lok Sabha is vested with the special powers”. Comment

Lok Sabha is vested with the special powers like,

 A no-confidence motion can be initiated and passed only in

the Lok Sabha.

 Money and Financial Bill can be introduced only in the Lok

Sabha. The Rajya cannot reject or amend a money bill.

 Under article 352, the Lok Sabha in a special sitting can

disapprove the continuance of a national emergency proclaimed

by the president.

Mention the functions of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

The speaker of Lok Sabha conducts the proceedings of the Lok

Sabha impartially.

 He/She presides over the meetings of the Lok Sabha.

 Grants permission for the introduction of the bills.

 Appoints chairman to the primary committees.

 Speaker is the ex-officio chairman of certain committees of

the parliament.

 Protects the privileges of the members of the Lok Sabha

and maintains discipline in the house.

 6 marks
Describe the different stages of the bill.

A Bill is a draft of the proposed law. Bills can be classified under

four heads Ordinary Bill, Money Bill, Financial Bill and

Constitutional Amendment Bill. Money and Financial bill cannot

be introduced in Rajya Sabha. They can be introduced only in the

Lok Sabha. Other bills can be introduced in either house of the

Parliament. The different stages through which a bill passes and

becomes an act are:

 Introduction of bill: In this stage bill is introduced and after

the bill has been introduced in the house it is published in the

gazette of India. This is the first reading of the bill.

 In the second stage of a bill, a large part of discussion on the

bills takes place in the committees. The recommendation of the

committee is then sent to the House. That is why committees are

referred to as miniature legislatures.

If the bill is referred to a select or joint committee, discussion on

the bill takes place. The recommendation of the committee is then

sent to the house. This is called the report stage of the bill. The bill

is then taken up for consideration, clause by clause. Each clause is

placed before the house for discussions and amendments are

made. This is the stage where a bill undergoes major changes.

 Third reading of the bill: At this stage only verbal or formal

amendment are moved and discussion is limited. Once all

amendments are disposed of, the bill is finally passed as a whole.

When the work is over in the house, the bill is sent to the other

house.

In the other house the bill has to pass through same process. The

house has four alternatives which are:

 It may pass the bill

 It may reject the bill.

 It may pass the bill with amendments.

 The house may take no action on the bill by keeping it. In

such case if more than six month passes from the date of receiving

the bill, then it is deemed that there is a deadlock between the

houses and the President may summon joint sitting of the

Parliament.

After a bill has passed through both the houses or through joint

sitting of the parliament it is presented to the President of India for

his assent. After receiving the assent of the President the bill turns

into an act.
With special reference to the principle of Separation of Powers,

describe the functions of the branch of government which deals

with the enactment of laws.

In order to ensure independence of different organs of the

government, i.e. executive, legislature and judiciary, the framers of

the Indian Constitution adopted the principle of Separation of

Powers, which implies that the power is divided between the

different organs of the government. Legislature enacts laws,

executive implements and judiciary interprets. Legislature is that

branch of the government, which is concerned, with the enactment

of laws. The Constitution of India provides for bicameral

legislature on the pattern of Britain. The main functions of the

legislature include:

 Legislation – It formulates laws and as per the requirements

brings changes in the old laws

 Control over finance - Budget is passed by the legislature,

which authorises the executive to collect taxes and make

expenditure. No tax can be imposed and collected without the

sanction of the legislature and no expenditure can be made

without its approval. The other financial powers includes grant of

resources to the government to implement its program. The

government has to give an account to the legislature about the

money.

 Amendment in the constitution - In a democratic state,

constitution is amended by legislature. Legislature is the

representative body of people and is expected to amend the

constitution according to the wishes of the people and for the

welfare of the people.

 Judicial function - In some states legislature has the power

to impeach the executive head of the state. In India parliament can

remove the President or the Vice President through impeachment

and can also remove judges of Supreme Court and high courts.

 Control over executive - In a parliamentary form, ministers

are the members of the legislature and are responsible to it. They

remain in office as long as they enjoy the confidence of the

majority of the lower house.

 Platform of deliberations and discussions - Legislature is a

platform for discussion and deliberations on public issues. Public

issues are thoroughly deliberated over and grievances of the

people are freely expressed by the opposition parties representing

all shades of opinion of groups and minorities, and many times

forcing the executive, even to its course of action and promise of

redressal of those grievances.

Compare the powers of Lok Sabha with the Rajya Sabha.

The Constitution makers had adopted a bi-cameral parliament,

which is based on the British pattern. The Rajya Sabha and the Lok

Sabha and are the two houses of parliament. The Rajya Sabha is

the Upper House and Lok Sabha is the Lower House of the

Parliament. Lok Sabha is more powerful than the Rajya Sabha. The

Lok Sabha is elected for five years but it can be dissolved earlier if

a vote of no confidence is passed, whereas Rajya Sabha is a

permanent house and one third of its members retire after six

years. Members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the MLAs

whereas members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the

people.

Legislative power - As far as ordinary bills are concerned; both the

houses have equal powers. An ordinary bill can be proposed in

any of the houses. If there is a disagreement between the two

houses on a certain bill then the president calls for joint session of

both the houses and the bill is decided by majority vote. In this

session, Lok Sabha has the advantage because of its strength. If a

joint session is held then it is presided by the speaker of the Lok

Sabha. In financial matters Rajya Sabha has limited powers. A

financial bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha and after

approval it is sent to the Rajya Sabha, which can detain the bill
only for 14 days. By passing the '' No Confidence Motion '' Lok

Sabha can remove the government whereas Rajya Sabha can only

criticise but cannot remove the government.

“Money bills can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha”.

Comment.

The Rajya Sabha has equal powers with the Lok Sabha except with

regard to collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers to the

parliament and the Money bills, which cannot be introduced,

rejected or amended by it. The money bill can originate in the Lok

Sabha only. It is introduced on the recommendation of the

President. After the Lok Sabha passes it, it is transmitted to the

Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend a money bill.

It can only give recommendations. After receiving a money bill

from the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha within a period of 14 days

must return the bill to the Lok Sabha with or without any

recommendations. The Lok Sabha may or may not accept any or

all the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha. If the Lok Sabha

accepts any recommendations of Rajya Sabha, the money bill shall

be considered to have been passed by both the houses with the

amendments recommended by the Rajya Sabha and accepted by

the Lok Sabha. If the Lok Sabha does not accept any of the

recommendations of the Rajya Sabha, the money bill shall be

considered to have been passed by both the houses in the form it

was passed by Lok Sabha. If a money bill passed by the Lok Sabha

and transmitted to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendations is not

returned to the Lok Sabha within 14 days it shall be deemed to

have been passed by both the houses. After a money bill is passed

by the parliament it is sent for the President's assent. Only after the

assent of the President, bill becomes a law.

Describe the functions of the law-making body of India.

The law-making body of India is known as the Parliament, which

is an important organ of the government. It consists of the

President, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Parliament is the supreme

law-making body and performs various functions like:

 The most important function of Parliament is to make laws.

The Parliament is empowered to make laws on subjects given in

the union list and concurrent list. Under certain circumstances, it

can make laws on state list. The Parliament also enjoys legislative

power on the residuary subjects.

 The Parliament has the power to control finance of the

country. No taxes can be levied without the approval of

parliament; the government without the sanction of parliament

cannot incur expenditure. No money can be spent out of

consolidated fund of India without the authorisation by the

parliament.

 The Parliament exercises great control over the executive.

The executive can remain in office as long as it enjoys the

confidence of the majority in Lok Sabha. The ministers are

responsible to parliament for their actions and policies. The

members of parliament can ask the ministers about the functioning

of his department. The members of parliament by introducing

Adjournment motion can divert attention of the government to a

serious problem. During budget the members of parliament

discuss about the working of various departments and criticize

policies of government.

 The parliament provides a platform to discuss various

issues, policies, measures through debates, questions before

implementing them.

 The Constitution of India provides that the parliament has

the power to propose and initiate amendments. Parliament can

change all the provisions of the Constitution except federal

subjects, which needs ratification of not less than half of the state.

 First reading - In this stage bill is introduced and after the

bill has been introduced in the house it is published in the gazette

of India.
 Second reading - This stage consists of general discussion on

the Bill as a whole when the principle underlying the Bill is

discussed. At this stage it is open to the House to refer the Bill to a

Select Committee of the House or a Joint Committee of the two

Houses or to circulate it for the purpose of eliciting opinion

thereon or to straightaway take it into consideration.

 Report stage - The second stage of the Second Reading

consists of clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill as introduced

or as reported by Select/Joint Committee.

 Third reading - At this stage the debate is confined to

arguments either in support or rejection of the Bill without

referring to the details of that further than that are absolutely

necessary.

 Bill in the other House - After the Bill is passed by one

House, it is sent to the other House for concurrence with a

message to that effect, and there also it goes through the stages

described above except the introduction stage.