Parliament And State Legislatures
Introduction
The highest legislative body in the union and the states are the State Legislatures and Parliament, respectively. The President of India, the Lok Sabha, and the Rajya Sabha make up the Indian Parliament. The Legislative Assembly, the Legislative Council, and the Governor of the State make up the state legislature. Along with acting as a legislative body, it also maintains the integrity of the executive branch and approves the national budget. The representation of the people is the most crucial function of both the federal and state legislatures. It serves as a representative institution and brings to light significant problems that the populace is dealing with.
Composition of The Parliament
The Indian President
• The President and the Council of Ministers, which is presided over by the Prime Minister, make up the Central Executive. The official head of state is the President. He carries out every executive activity at the central level.
• This authority was granted to him in accordance with Article 53 (1) of the Indian Constitution, which stipulates that the President should hold the executive power and shall exercise it directly or indirectly through a subordinate of his officer.
Council of States or Rajya Sabha
• The Upper House of Parliament, known as the Council of States or Rajya Sabha, has more than 250 members, including 238 members who represent the States and Union Territories and 12 members who are appointed by the President because they have unique expertise and real-world experience in the fields of literature, art, science, and social service.
House of People, or Lok Sabha
• The Lok Sabha has a total of 552 members, 530 of them are elected to represent the States, 20 to represent the Union Territories, and the President of India nominates two members from among the Anglo-Indian population.
• The Indian President has the authority to dissolve the five-year term at any time.
What Is The Parliamentary Legislative Process?
• A Bill, which is a proposal for legislation, must be approved by both Houses of Parliament and get presidential assent before it can become an Act.
• Ministers can introduce Government Bills, but any other MP can introduce Private Member Bills.
Bills in Parliament
|
Kind of Bills |
Subject |
Introduction |
Passage |
|
Ordinary Bills |
Anything under the Union and Concurrent Lists |
Introduced in either House |
Simple majority in each House |
|
Money Bills |
Involving taxation, borrowing, govt funding, payment or withdrawal of money from the Consolidated or Contingency Funds of India |
Introduced only in LS |
Simple majority in LS RS can recommend changes but LS has the right to reject them RS must return or pass a Money Bill within 14 days or it is deemed passed |
|
Constitutional Amendment Bills |
Amends the provisions of the Constitution |
Introduced in either House |
Simple majority of total membership and two-third majority of the MPs present and voting Some Bills also need to be ratified by half the state legislatures in the country |
State Legislative Body
• Writing laws and introducing proposals that are pertinent to the state is the State Legislature's goal and mission. Although these rights and duties are restricted to the State Legislative Assembly, members of that body have many privileges and authorities that are equal to those provided to members of Parliament.
• The State Legislative Assembly's significant members and requirements are covered in depth in Articles 168 to 212 of the Indian Constitution.
• India's legislature is divided into two houses.
• According to Article 169 of the Constitution, states may have a Legislative Council in addition to the Legislative Assembly, just as Parliament has two Houses.
• Six states have a legislative council: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.
• The J&K Reorganization Bill, which reduced the state of J&K to the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, led to the abolition of the J&K Legislative Council in 2019.
Creating or Abolition of Legislative Councils
• The Legislative Council, often referred to as Vidhan Parishad, is the Upper House of the bicameral legislature in our nation, whose establishment is specified in Article 169 of the Indian Constitution and which can also be abolished in accordance with that provision.
• The Legislative Assembly must approve a resolution that has the support of more than 50% of the assembly's entire strength in order to establish or abolish the Legislative Council. More than 2/3 of the members present and voting must agree with it. As a result, the absolute and special majority is discussed.
• The President must also approve any motion that would establish or dissolve the Legislative Council.
• In certain of our nation's States, Article 168 makes reference to the Legislative Council.
• The State of India does not have a law requiring a bicameral legislature. It's because our Constitution's creators were aware that not every State would be able to support a bicameral legislature (whether for practical or other reasons).
Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha)
• According to the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act of 1956, which established the composition of the Legislative Assembly, the number of members must be consistent with Article 333 of the Constitution.
• Candidates are chosen by direct election from geographical seats in the State, and the Legislative Assembly of States has the requirement that the members should not be more than five hundred and not less than sixty.
• According to Clause 2 of Article 170, each state should be divided into geographical constituencies, and the ratio between each constituency's population and the number of representatives allocated must be reasonable and consistent throughout the State. There are a few instances with fewer than 60 members, though, of the States of Goa (40 members), Sikkim (32 members), Mizoram (40 members), and UT of Puducherry.
Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad)
• Article 171 of the Indian Constitution specifies the makeup of the Legislative Council. One-third of the total number of legislators in the state's Legislative Assembly is the maximum make up the Legislative Council.
• The Legislative Council's makeup is subject to yet another criterion. In any case, the Legislative Council member should be at least 40 years old. The makeup of Vidhan Parishad is an exception.
• The following other divisions of the Legislative Council's membership are possible:
• According to the law, district boards, municipalities, and other local bodies that are designated by the Parliament are to elect one-third of the Legislative Council members.
• Twelve percent of its members must be elected from among those who have resided in the same state for at least three years and have earned degrees from institutions located on Indian soil.
• Twelve percent of its total members should be chosen from among those who have worked as teachers for the state's educational institutions for at least three years.
• Legislative Assemblies should elect one-third of them, and none of them should be Legislative Assembly members.
• According to established law, the Governor should propose the remaining members.
State Legislature: Functions And Powers
Legislative Activities
• Laws governing State and Concurrent Lists may be created by the State Legislature. However, the law approved by the Parliament shall prevail if there is a conflict between Union and State law.
• There are two types of bills: money bills and regular bills. If the State Legislature is bicameral, ordinary bills may be introduced in either of the two chambers, but the money bill must be introduced first in the Vidhan Sabha.
• If a Bill Amendment is proposed, both houses must approve it. A bill that is pending in a State's Legislative Council but is not passed by the Legislative Assembly will not expire when the Legislative Assembly is dissolved.
• However, if a bill is still in the Legislative Assembly of a State or if the Legislative Assembly enacted a bill that is still in the Legislative Council, the measure will expire when the Assembly is dissolved. The Governor must sign the law when it has been approved by both Houses.
• If the law is returned for further examination, the legislature may pass it once more, and the governor must sign it or reserve his signature for the President's review.
Financial Activities
• The State's finances are under the supervision of the State Legislature. Only the Vidhan Sabha may initiate a money bill. The government's authorized expenditures, the imposition or repeal of taxes, borrowing, etc. are all included in the money bill.
• A private member cannot introduce a measure involving money. On the Governor's advice, it must be introduced by a Minister. The Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha will decide if there is any doubt over whether or not that specific bill qualifies as a money bill.
• After being approved by the Vidhan Sabha, this money bill needs to be delivered to the Vidhan Parishad. Within 14 days, this bill must be returned, either with or without recommendations. These suggestions are up for acceptance or rejection by the Vidhan Sabha. The Governor will be notified of the completion of these steps and asked to sign this measure.
Rights Guaranteed By The Constitution
• Similar to the freedom of speech and expression rights outlined in Article 105(1) for Members of Parliament and the guarantee in clause (2) that no Member of Parliament would be held accountable in any process before any Court for anything said or any vote cast by him.
• It further states that if a report, paper, vote, or process is published by the parliament or a body operating under it, no one will be held accountable for doing so.
• The same privileges are outlined for a State legislative in Article 194 of the Indian Constitution. The concerned members may only exercise this absolute right inside the Parliament's walls, any remarks made outside the building would be seen as defamatory.
Conclusion
The primary institution through which the needs and desires of the people are expressed is the Parliament. It is important to a democracy and attempts to increase efficacy, transparency, accessibility, and representativeness. Any State Legislative Assembly alone has the authority to make legislation pertaining to any of the topics included in List II (State List) and List III (Concurrent List) of the Seventh Schedule. However, the State Government's authority over the State and Concurrent lists is not entirely supported by the powers granted to them. In practice, where central government control is seen to be in the public interest by the Indian Parliament, the central government's judgment is thought to be superior.