The 'Rajya Sabha' (meaning the "Council of States") is the
upper house of the
Parliament of India. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the
President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature, science, and social services. These members are known as nominated members. The remainder of the body is elected by
state and territorial legislatures.
Terms of office are for six years, with one third of the members facing re-election every two years.
The Rajya Sabha meets in continuous session and, unlike the lower house of parliament, the
Lok Sabha, is not subject to dissolution. The Rajya Sabha shares legislative powers with the Lok Sabha, except in the area of
supply, where the Lok Sabha has overriding powers. In the case of conflicting legislation, a joint sitting of the two houses is held.
The
Vice-President of India (currently,
Hamid Ansari) is the
ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The
Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who is elected from amongst its members, takes care of the day-to-day matters of the house in the absence of the Chairman.
The Rajya Sabha held its first sitting on
13 May 1952.
Apportionment
Members are elected by the Legislative Assembly of Each State. Seats are fixed for each state on the basis of its population, and not equality. The numbers of seats as of 2006 are, according to the
official website:
Total: 242
Elections in within the state legislatures are held using
single transferable votes with
proportional representation.
Powers
#Along with 'Lok Sabha', the 'Rajya Sabha' has the right to initiate, pass and amend ordinary bills of law. If there is a conflict which cannot be resolved even by the joint committee of the two Houses, it is solved in the joint session of the Parliament, where the will of the Lok Sabha almost always prevails, since the Lok Sabha is more than twice as large as the Rajya Sabha.
#Consultative Power in money bills (taxation and spending), which can originate only in the Lok Sabha, and the Rajya Sabha cannot delay it for more than fourteen days, nor amend it against the will of the Lok Sabha, otherwise the bill will be deemed to be passed by both the houses and sent to the President for assent.
#Equal Powers with the Lok Sabha in initiating and passing any Bill for Constitutional Amendment (by a majority of the total membership of the House and at least two-thirds majority of the members present and voting).
#Equal Powers with the Lok Sabha in initiating and passing a motion for the impeachment of the President (by two-thirds of the membership of the House)
#Equal Powers with the Lok Sabha in initiating and passing a motion for the impeachment of the judges of the Supreme Court and the state High Courts (by a majority of the membership of the House and two-thirds majority of the members present and voting)
#Equal Powers with the Lok Sabha in initiating and passing a resolution declaring war or national emergency or constitutional emergency in a state.
#If the Lok Sabha is dissolved before or after the declaration of a National Emergency, the Rajya Sabha becomes the sole ''
de facto'' and ''
de jure'' Parliament. It, of course, cannot be dissolved.
#Sole power to declare by two-thirds majority if a subject in the jurisdiction of the states has assumed national importance, thereby enabling the Union to legislate on it.
#No power to cause the dismissal or resignation of the Prime Minister or any minister, this being the sole prerogative of the Lok Sabha (caused by its simple majority). But power to ask questions from the ministers retained.
Important Members of the Rajya Sabha (2006)
★ 'Vice-President of India & the ex-officio Chairman:'
Mohammad Hamid Ansari
★ 'Deputy Chairman:'
K. Rahman Khan,
Indian National Congress,
Karnataka
★ 'Leader of the House:' Dr.
Manmohan Singh,
Indian National Congress,
Assam
★ 'Leader of the Opposition:'
Jaswant Singh,
Bharatiya Janata Party,
Rajasthan
★ 'Deputy leader of opposition':
Sushma Swaraj,
Bhartiya Janata Party,
Madhya Pradesh
Elected Members
Main articles: Members of Rajya Sabha
There are 238 elected members, who represent the 28 states and 7 Union Territories,including the National Capital territory, New Delhi. Seats are allotted to them on the basis of their population. For example, Uttar Pradesh with a population of nearly 16 crores is represented in the Rajya Saabha by 31 members, which is the largest.
Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura send only one member each to the Rajya Sabha.
Nominated Members
The president nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha. These are eminent persons from the fields of literature, science,art and social service. They are nominated for 6-year terms with the provision that one-third shall retire every two years.
The current nominated members are
[1]
★
Shyam Benegal
★
Shobhana Bharatiya
★
Nirmala Deshpande
★
Hema Malini
★
Bimal Jalan
★
Ram Jethmalani
★
K. Kasturirangan
★
Narayan Singh Manaklao
★
Chandan Mitra
★
Dara Singh
★
M. S. Swaminathan
★
Kapila Vatsyayan
Election to the Rajya Sabha
The' members' of the Rajya Sabha from each state are elected by the members of the Legislature or the Legislative Assembly of that state by means of
proportional representation through the
Single Transferable Vote System. The representatives of the Union Territories are chosen in such manner as may be decided or prescribed by the Parliament from time to time.
See also
★
Members of Rajya Sabha
★
Lok Sabha
★
Politics of India
★
Parliament of India
External links
★
Rajya Sabha homepage hosted by the Indian government
★
Rajya Sabha FAQ page hosted by the Indian government
★
Nominated members list
★
State wise list
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