The Union Legislature and The Parliament: Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha: It is the upper house or the council of states

Composition: Max Strength 250 members. 238 members are representatives from various states, 12 members are nominated by the president from among peoples who have excelled in arts, music, sports etc. 

Election: The representatives of each state in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the legislative assembly of each state in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. 

Term: Rajya Sabha is a permanent house. It cannot be dissolved like the Lok Sabha. Each member is elected for a period of 6 years. One third of the total members of the house retire after every two years. 

Qualification: Minimum age for contesting election for Rajya Sabha is 30 years. 

• Other qualification for membership of the Rajya Sabha are the same as those of Lok Sabha. 

Disqualification: 

• If a member holds any office of profit under the court of India or the government of any state (other than an office exempted by parliament by law)
• If he / she is of unsound mind and is proved so by a competent court. 
• If he / she is an undischarged insolvent. 
• If he / she is not a citizen of India or has voluntarily acquired citizenship of a foreign state
• If he / she is disqualified by or under any law made by the parliament. 

Presiding officers

• The vice president of India is the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. He presides over its meetings.
• Rajya Sabha elects a deputy chairman from among its members. In the absence of Chairman, he performs all functions and deputies of the chairman. 

Powers and Functions of the parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha)

Legislative Powers

All bills, except the money bills, can originate in any house of the parliament. No bill can become a law unless agreed to by both the houses. In case of disagreement, the president may summon both the houses of parliament in a joint meeting

The parliament can make laws on:

• Matters in the Union List
• Parliament can make laws on all the 97 subjects in the union list, including important subjects like defence, communications, foreign policy etc. 
• Matters in the concurrent list:
• Along with the state legislative assemblies, the parliament can make laws on the 47 subjects in the concurrent list. In case of conflict between the union parliament and the state legislative on any law in this list, the union law will prevail. 

Residuary Powers:

It means that the parliament can make laws with respect to all those matters which are not mentioned in any of the 3 lists - union list, state list, concurrent list. 

Matters in the state list:

Parliament can legislate on subjects in the state list: 

• During the proclamation of an emergency
• When the Rajya Sabha passes on a resolution by a two-thirds majority that a subject in the state list has assumed national importance. 
• When two or more states are of the opinion that the parliament should legislate on a subject given in the sate list, parliament may make an act on that subject but that would be applicable only to the consenting state. 

Ordinances:

President is empowered to promulgate an ordinance at at time when the parliament is not in session. It has the same effect as an act. All ordinance must be put up before both the houses for their approval. Ordinances cease to operate after 6 weeks from the re-assembly of parliament, unless they are approved by the houses. 

Powers during emergency

When there is a total breakdown of the constitutional machinery in a state, the parliament becomes the legislature in the state concerned and assumes all powers including the financial powers of passing the state budget. 

Financial Powers

A money bill can originate in the Lok Sabha only. After a money bill is passed by the Lok Sabha, it is sent to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendations which it must make within 14 days, in financial matters the Rajya Sabha has only an advisory role. 

The Budget

The parliament passes the union budget containing the estimates of receipts and expenditure of the government for a financial year. The budget is presented in two parts, the railway budget and the general budget. 

Supplementary Grants:

If the amount authorized for the current financial year is not sufficient, the government may make a fresh demand known as the supplementary grant

Vote on account

If the union budget is not passed before the beginning of the new financial year, i.e. April 1, there would be no money for the executive to spend. Thus, a device known as 'vote on account' authorizes the executive to draw funds from the consolidated fund until the budget is passed by the parliament. 

Salaries

The Salaries and allowances of MPs and Ministers are determined by Parliament

Permission for Taxes

No tax can be imposed or money spent by the government without the approval of the parliament.