Indian parliament-1

PARLIAMENT

 Articles 79 to 122 in Part V of the Constitution deal with the organisation, composition, duration, officers,
procedures, privileges, powers and so on of the Parliament.

Organisation of Parliament

 The Parliament of India consists of three parts viz, the President, the Council of States and the House of
the People.

 In 1954, the Hindi names ‗Rajya Sabha‘ and ‗Lok Sabha‘ were adopted by the Council of States and the
House of People respectively.

 The Rajya Sabha is the Upper House (Second Chamber or House of Elders) and the Lok Sabha is the
Lower House (First Chamber or Popular House).

 The RSrepresents the states and union territories of the Indian Union, while the LS represents the people
of India as a whole.

 The President of India is not a member of either House of Parliament and does not sit in the Parliament
to attend its meetings, he is an integral part of the Parliament. This is because a bill passed by both the
Houses of Parliament cannot become law without the President‘s assent.

 The president summons and pro- rogues both the Houses, dissolves the Lok Sabha, addresses both the
Houses, issues ordinances when they are not in session, and so on.
Composition of the Two Houses
Composition of Rajya Sabha

 The maximum strength fixed at 250, out of which, 238 are to be the representatives of the states and union
territories (elected indirectly) and 12 are nominated by the president.

 The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha to the states
and union territories.

1. Representation of States

 The representatives of states elected by the elected members of state legislative assemblies.

 held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

 The seats are allotted to the states on the basis of population.

2. Representation of Union Territories 

 The representatives of each union territory are indirectly elected by members of an electroral college
specially constituted for the purpose.

 election is also held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single
transferable vote.

 Out of the seven union territories, only two (Delhi and Puducherry) have representation in Rajya Sabha.

 The populations of other five union territories are too small to have any representative in the Rajya Sabha.

3. Nominated Members 

 The president nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha from people who have special knowledge or
practical experience in art, literature, science and social service.
Composition of Lok Sabha
The maximum strength fixed at 552. Out of this, 530 members are to be the representatives of the states, 20
members are to be the representatives of the union territories and 2 members are to be nominated by the
president from the Anglo-Indian community.

1. Representation of States

 The representatives of states are directly elected by the people from the territorial constituencies in the
states.

 based on the principle of universal adult franchise.

 Every Indian citizen who is above 18 years of age and who is not disqualified under the provisions of
the Constitution or any law is eligible to vote at such election.

 The voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 years by the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1988.

2. Representation of Union Territories

 The Constitution has empowered the Parliament to prescribe the manner of choosing the representatives of
the union territories in the Lok Sabha.

 Accordingly, the Parliament has enacted the Union Territories (Direct Election to the House of the
People) Act, 1965, by which the members of Lok Sabha from the union territories are also chosen by
direct election.

3. Nominated Members

 The president can nominate two members from the Anglo-Indian community if the community is not
adequately represented in the Lok Sabha.

 Originally, this provision was to operate till 1960 but has been extended till 2020 by the 95th Amendment
Act, 2009.
System of Elections to Lok Sabha
The various aspects related to the system of elections to the Lok Sabha are as follows:
Territorial Constituencies
In this respect, the Constitution makes the following two provisions:

1. Each state is allotted a number of seats in the Lok Sabha in such a manner that the ratio between that
number and its population is the same for all states. This provision does not apply to a state having a
population of less than six millions.

2. Each state is divided into territorial constituencies in such a manner that the ratio between the population
of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it is the same throughout the state.

Duration of Two Houses

Duration of Rajya Sabha

 The Rajya Sabha (first constituted in 1952) is a continuing chamber, that is, it is a permanent body and
not subject to dissolution.

 one-third of its members retire every second year.

 Their seats are filled up by fresh elections and presidential nominations at the beginning of every third
year.

 The retiring members are eligible for re-election and renomination any number of times.

 the Parliament in the Representation of the People Act (1951) provided that the term of office of a member
of the Rajya Sabha shall be six years.

Duration of Lok Sabha

 The Lok Sabha is not a continuing chamber.

 Its normal term is five years from the date of its first meeting after the general elections, after which it
automatically dissolves.

 the President is authorised to dissolve the Lok Sabha at any time even before the completion of five years
and this cannot be challenged in a court of law.

 the term of the Lok Sabha can be extended during the period of national emergency be a law of Parliament
for one year at a time for any length of time.

 this extension cannot continue beyond a period of six months after the emergency has ceased to operate.