Rajya Sabha

The Indian Parliament is composed of the Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha, and the President of India. The upper chamber of parliament in India is known as the Rajya Sabha or the Chamber of Elders. The states and union territories of the country are represented in the Rajya Sabha, the second house of parliament. If the centre interferes with the states' or union territories' operations, it has the authority to defend such interests.

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This Story also Contains

1. What is Rajya Sabha?
2. Evolution of Rajya Sabha
3. Article 80: The composition of the Rajya Sabha
4. The qualifications and tenure of Rajya Sabha members
5. Duration and dissolution of Rajya Sabha
6. How Are Members of the Rajya Sabha Chosen?
7. Disqualification of Rajya Sabha
8. Roles and Responsibilities of Rajya Sabha
9. Role of Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
10. Seat distribution in the Rajya Sabha among the Indian states
11. Conclusion

What is Rajya Sabha?

• The Council of States, or Rajya Sabha, is the name of the upper house of the Indian parliament.

• The Rajya Sabha is made up of individuals nominated by the Indian President as well as members from the States and Union Territories.

• The inaugural meeting of the Rajya Sabha took place on May 13, 1952, following its establishment on April 3, 1952.

• The Rajya Sabha, which upholds state rights and advances national welfare, is unique in and of itself and represents the federal nature of the Constitution.

• The Rajya Sabha, which upholds state rights and advances national welfare, is unique in and of itself and represents the federal nature of the Constitution.

• The Rajya Sabha, often known as the Second Chamber, was established based on the 1918 Montague-Chelmsford Report.

Evolution of Rajya Sabha

• The Rajya Sabha, commonly referred to as the Body of Elders, is the name of India's Upper House of Parliament.

• The Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, was established in response to the 1918 Montague-Chelmsford Report.

• The Government of India Act, of 1919, called for the establishment of the "Council of State," a second or upper chamber of the current legislature with a restricted scope of powers, in 1921.

• At that period, the former President of the Council of State was also the Governor-General.

• The Government of India Act, of 1935, made practically any changes to its composition.

• The organization was founded on April 3, 1952, and its first meeting was held on May 13, 1952.

• The Rajya Sabha was established to supervise the powers of the Lok Sabha, often known as the Lower House, with the responsibility of protecting the interests of the States and Union territories.

Article 80: The composition of the Rajya Sabha

• It is stipulated under Article 80 of the Indian Constitution. According to this Act, the Upper House's maximum strength is 250.

• Of these 250, the President of India appoints 12 of them, the representatives of the different Indian states make up 238 of them, and the Union Territories make up the remaining 10.

• There are now 8 UTs and 28 states in India.

• The real strength frequently stays below the maximal strength of 250. The President has nominated individuals who have made significant contributions to literature, science, art, culture, and social service.

• Elections are used to choose the state members for the Upper House. Based on the number of seats allotted to them, the members of the state legislative assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, who are chosen by the electorate, choose the Rajya Sabha members.

• It's interesting to note that no state has an equal proportion; for example, Goa will have a different number of Rajya Sabha members than Uttar Pradesh.

• Rather, the principle of proportional representation is being employed. Therefore, the state's population is greater.

• The number of members representing that state would be greater. By this reasoning, Uttar Pradesh has the most representatives in the Upper House.

• Presently, the Rajya Sabha does not have representatives from every Union Territory.

• The only ones are the newly established Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry, and Delhi.

• Members of the Rajya Sabha from Union Territories are chosen by an electoral college established for this very purpose.

Presiding officers of Rajya Sabha

Article 89(1)

The Indian Vice President will automatically serve as the ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States.

Article 89(2)

• The Rajya Sabha will designate a council member as Deputy Chairman, and the council will designate a new member to fill the position if it falls empty.

• Only a resolution approved by the Lok Sabha and supported by the majority of the Rajya Sabha's members at the time may remove the Chairman from office.

• A majority of all the Rajya Sabha members in attendance at the time may dismiss the Deputy Chairman.

The qualifications and tenure of Rajya Sabha members

Article 84

Article 84 of the Constitution lists the prerequisites for joining the Rajya Sabha, which include the following:

• Has to be a citizen of India.

• Requires to be thirty or above.

• In front of the individual the electoral commission has chosen for this purpose, he needs to confirm:

• To faithfully and sincerely defend the Indian Constitution.

• To safeguard the integrity and independence of India.

• Must fulfil any other conditions set forth in that respect by any legislation approved by Parliament.

The following further conditions were added to the Representation of People Act (1951) by the Parliament:

• He has to be identified as an elector for a parliamentary seat.

• He must be a member of one of the scheduled castes or scheduled tribes to be eligible to run for a seat reserved for them. He may, nonetheless, also contend for a seat that isn't assigned to them.

Duration and dissolution of Rajya Sabha

Article 83(1)

The Rajya Sabha cannot be dissolved and has an endless duration. As per the regulations set by the Indian legislative body, every permanent member of the Rajya Sabha serves a six-year term, with one-third of these members stepping down every two years.

Representation of the People Act (1951): Members of the Rajya Sabha hold office for a period of six years.

How Are Members of the Rajya Sabha Chosen?

The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution specifies how seats in the Rajya Sabha are distributed among the States and Union Territories. When assigning seats, the population of each State is taken into consideration.

• Rajya Sabha members are selected through a process of indirect election.

• The elected members of each State's Legislative Assembly and the Electoral College for each Union Territory select the representatives of each State and the Union territory using the proportional representation system, which employs a single transferable vote.

• Rather than casting separate votes for each seat, the Lok Sabha MPs have ranked all candidates in order of preference.

• Direct election results for Rajya Sabha candidates who receive the support of ten or more Lok Sabha members.

• A candidate needs one-fourth of the total votes cast plus one to win.

• The most appropriate formula is as follows: Quotient = [Total Votes / (Number of Rajya Sabha Seats + 1)] + 1

• The votes for each competitor are then tallied after that. If a candidate has already won (by earning enough votes or being the first choice of 10 or more members), his vote is moved to the second choice.

• If the second option is similarly likely to win or has no chance at all, the vote goes to the next person on the list. The process is continued until each competitor is eliminated or selected.

Disqualification of Rajya Sabha

Article 102(1)

• An individual may be excluded from:

• holding any paid position with the Indian or State governments, excluding those established by legislation passed by Parliament.

• unsound mind and has been found to be so by an appropriate court.

• Insolvent but not released.

• Not an Indian citizen, or having freely taken up citizenship in a foreign country, or being acknowledged as being loyal or devoted to a foreign state.

• disqualified by any law passed by the legislature.

Article 102(2)

• If someone is prohibited from holding office under the Tenth Schedule, they will not be eligible to serve in either House of Parliament.

Representation of People’s Act, 1951

• Found guilty of participating in corrupt or election-related activities.

• Someone who has been found guilty of a crime that has a minimum two-year jail sentence. Detention under a preventative detention statute does not, however, imply disqualification.

• Not submitting an expenditure report for the election within the deadline.

• An individual has a stake in government jobs, projects, or services.

• A managing agent, director, or someone holding the position of profit in a company where the government controls at least 25% of the shares.

• A person was fired from their position with the government due to their disloyalty or corruption.

• Found guilty of encouraging animosity between various groups or the bribery crime.

• It is punishable to preach or practise social offences including sati, dowry, and untouchability.

Disqualification for defection in Rajya Sabha

As per the Anti-defection Act of 1985, an individual may be excluded if they:

• Resigns from such a political party voluntarily.

• votes in such houses against any instruction from such a political party, or does not vote.

• Any political party can accept a member who was elected independently.

• After six months have passed since the member of the house was nominated, he or she might join any political party.

• The Speaker in the Lok Sabha case and the Chairman in the Rajya Sabha case will settle the disqualification issue.

Vacation of seat

Double membership

As per the 1955 Representation of People Act:

• In the event that both chambers are elected, the Rajya Sabha seat becomes empty until the option is communicated within ten days.

• A current member's seat in the first House becomes vacant if they are elected to another body.

• In the event that two candidates are elected, both seats fall empty if one is not exercised.

• If someone is elected to both the state legislature and the parliament, their position in the legislature becomes empty if they do not step down from the state legislature within 14 days.

Disqualification

If susceptible to any disqualification under the tenth schedule for defection or under the representation of people's legislation or the constitution.

Resignation

A member may tender their resignation in writing to the house's presiding officer.

Absence

If a participant misses 60 consecutive meetings without authorization, their seat becomes vacant.

Other cases

• If a judge rules that an election is invalid.

• If the house expels you.

• If chosen to hold the presidency.

• If chosen to hold the governorship.

Roles and Responsibilities of Rajya Sabha

Safety Valve of India’s Federal Polity

• For a federal constitution to provide representation to the federation's components, bicameralism is required.

• The Council of States functions as a safety valve inside the legislative itself, reducing tensions at the federal level, even if checks and balances often exist between the administration, legislature, and judiciary.

• Thus, in addition to the well-recognised instances of responsible governance and judicial scrutiny, the Rajya Sabha is an essential part of the constitutional checks and balances system.

Permanent Body

• The Rajya Sabha is not dissolved, however every two years, one-third of its members step down from office.

• This helps to maintain consistency in the formulation of public policy by encouraging continuity and a blend of the new and the old in the House, which ensures the participation of both past and current viewpoints.

Review and Revaluation Role

• In order to stop the lower house from enacting hurried and careless legislation in response to popular pressure, the Indian Constitution's drafters planned to create a chamber that would act as a revisionary house.

• Furthermore, as long as the Rajya Sabha has a resounding majority in the Lok Sabha, it can prevent the current administration from acting in an authoritarian manner.

• It also provides a forum for the smaller, local parties to voice their thoughts.

A Deliberative Body

• In addition to being a legislative body, parliament allows its members to engage in deliberate discourse on significant matters of public concern.

• Therefore, in addition to being a deliberative body, the Upper House's function is to counterbalance the Lok Sabha's "fickleness and passion."

Representation of the Vulnerable Sections

• Due to their underrepresentation in the Lok Sabha, women and members of linguistic, religious, and ethnic minorities would be given the chance to take part in the nation's legislative process by way of an indirect election to the Rajya Sabha.

• Consequently, the Rajya Sabha offers a place to those who may not be able to secure a significant mandate.

Voice of the States

• Using a single transferable vote and proportional representation, the members of the state legislative assemblies select the members of the Rajya Sabha. This method of indirect election is also employed in the legislative system of India.

• By providing each state a distinct voice, it acts as a bridge between the people, the states, and Parliament, supporting the goals of decentralisation.

Unique Features of the Rajya Sabha

• The Rajya Sabha has consistently had a positive and useful function. Its impact on government policy and legislative field performance has been noteworthy.

• Its efforts as a federal chamber have strengthened public confidence in parliamentary democracy and promoted the nation's unity and integrity.

• Every member of the Rajya Sabha is constantly urged to speak in their native tongues during discussions.

• The President's twelve nominees provide their specialised knowledge from a variety of subjects to the parliament.

Role of Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha

The deputy chairman of the House is selected from among its members, while the vice president of India acts as the chairperson ex officio.

Seat distribution in the Rajya Sabha among the Indian states

Conclusion

The Rajya Sabha is a significant governing body with several responsibilities. The Rajya Sabha has continued to be a leader in political and social principles and a melting pot of cultural variety despite the ups and downs of Indian politics. It also serves as a symbol of the sovereign, socialist, non-religious, democratic state called India, alongside the Lok Sabha. Hence, it's crucial to not view the Rajya Sabha as a "disruptive" part of the law-making sector and to focus on maintaining the significant position of the Rajya Sabha in the democratic system of India.