Legislature Notes in English Class 11 Political Science Chapter-5 Book-1

 

major organs of government 

• Legislature, executive and judiciary are the main organs of the government.  These three organs together perform the work of governance  and contribute significantly to public welfare.  Coordination and balance is maintained among these three organs through the constitution.   

what is meant by legislature

• The legislature is elected by the people and acts as representatives of the people 

• the legislature makes the law

• The legislature of the Union is called the Parliament 

• It consists of  the President and both houses, Rajya Sabha and   Lok Sabha

• The legislature of the states  is called the Legislative Assembly or Legislature 

three organs of government 

1. Executive (enforcing laws)

2. Legislature  (Law making)

3. Judiciary (resolving disputes )

Why do we need a parliament?

• The work of the legislature is not just to make laws.  Making laws is one of the many important functions of the legislature. 

• There are many scenes to be seen in the Parliament. Debates, protests, demonstrations, consensus, concern and cooperation in the House keep it very lively. 

• The legislature ensures the accountability of the public representatives (leaders) to the public. 

• This is actually the basis of democracy.  In most democracies, the legislature is losing its importance in comparison to the executive,  but in India the legislature is still important. 

• A powerful cabinet also requires a majority in the legislature. 

• The leader also has to face the Parliament and satisfy the Parliament with his answers. 

• This makes us realise the democratic potential of the Parliament,  it is the most democratic and open forum for debate. 

• Due to its structural feature it  is the most representative among all other organs of the government.  And then, it also has the power to select and dismiss the government (executive).

two houses of parliament

• The name of the national legislature of India is Parliament.  The legislatures of the states are called Vidhan Mandal or Vidhan Sabha. 

• The Indian Parliament has two houses.  When a legislature has two houses,  it is called a bicameral legislature. 

• One house of the Parliament of India is called Rajya Sabha and the other house is called Lok Sabha.

• The Constitution gives states the option to establish either a unicameral or a bicameral legislature. 

• Now only six states have bicameral legislature. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Maharashtra,  Telangana, Uttar Pradesh   

• India is a vast country full of diversity  , hence there is a need for a bicameral national legislature  so that it can give proper representation to all sections of its society and all regions or parts of the country. 

• One advantage of a bicameral legislature is  that every decision of the Parliament is reconsidered in the other House. 

• The decision taken in one House  is sent to the other House for decision. 

• This means that every bill and  policy is considered twice. 

• This gives an opportunity to examine every issue twice.  If one House takes a decision in haste,  then it can be reconsidered during the debate in the other House.

Rajya Sabha 

• Rajya Sabha is also called the Upper House.  It represents the states.  Rajya Sabha is a permanent house. Its members  are elected for  6 years.

• Every two years one third of its members complete their term and elections are held again for these seats.  It can never be dissolved.

Election of members

• The members of Rajya Sabha are elected through an indirect system.  The people of a state elect the members of the state's Legislative Assembly.  Then the MLAs elect the members of Rajya Sabha.  

• The maximum number of members in Rajya Sabha can be 250,  out of which 238 are from the states and  12 members are nominated by the President. 

• These members are from the fields of  art, literature, science, social service,  sports world etc.

Two principles can be used for representation in the Rajya Sabha. 

1. The first way could be that  all the regions of the country should be given equal representation in the second house despite their unequal size and population. 

2. Another way could be that  different regions of the country are given unequal representation in proportion to their population. That is, regions with higher population should get more representation and regions with less population should get less representation.

Indian bicameral system  of representation

• Every state has been given equal representation  in the second house of America (Senate)  .

• This establishes equality among all states.  But it also means that smaller states  will get equal representation as larger states. 

• But a different method has been adopted for our Rajya Sabha from this American system of representation. 

• The number of members to be elected from each state has been determined in the Fourth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

• If we use the  'equal representation system of America' for representation in Rajya Sabha 

• So the result will be something like this –

• Uttar Pradesh, with a population of around 20 crore,  will get equal representation as Sikkim, with a population of 6.10 lakh. 

• The makers of the Constitution wanted to avoid such anomaly;  hence, the states with larger population were given more and 

• States with less population were given less representation

• Thus, Uttar Pradesh with higher population has been given 31 seats and  Sikkim with smaller population has been given 1 seat in Rajya Sabha. 

Powers of Rajya Sabha

• It considers and passes ordinary bills and proposes amendments to money bills.

• Passes constitutional amendments.

• Controls the executive by asking questions and presenting resolutions and proposals.

• Participates in the election of the President and Vice President. Can remove the judges of the Supreme Court and High Court. The proposal to remove the Vice President can be brought only in the Rajya Sabha.

• It can empower the Parliament to make laws on the subjects in the State List.

Lok Sabha 

• The public directly elects members to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies.  This is called direct election. 

• For Lok Sabha elections, the entire country and for assembly elections, a state is divided into constituencies of approximately equal population.  One representative is elected from each constituency; 

• Elections are held on the basis of universal adult suffrage  in which the value of each person's vote is equal to the value of every other person's vote. 

• There are 543 constituencies of Lok Sabha.  Members of Lok Sabha are elected for a term of 5 years. 

• But if a party or coalition of parties fails to form the government or the Prime Minister  advises the President to dissolve the Lok Sabha and hold fresh elections  , the Lok Sabha can be dissolved even before 5 years.

•  The President used to nominate 2 members in the Lok Sabha   who were from the Anglo Indian community  but this reservation has now been abolished  

Powers of Lok Sabha 

• Makes laws on subjects in the Union List and the Concurrent List.

• Introduces and passes Money Bills and Ordinary Bills.

• Approves tax proposals, the budget and annual financial statements.

• Controls the executive by asking questions, supplementary questions, bringing resolutions and through no-confidence motion.

• Amends the Constitution.

• Approves the declaration of emergency.

• It elects the President and Vice-President and  can remove judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.

• Forms committees and commissions and considers their reports.

Major functions of the Parliament 

• The Parliament makes new laws, amends laws and repeals old laws. 

• The budget is presented in the parliament and then passed by the parliament. This determines the government's expenditure and revenue plan. 

• Parliament determines the responsibilities of the government so that it can function properly  

• All issues are debated in the Parliament and public policies are determined. The priorities and direction of the country are decided.

• Parliament reviews the work of the government through question hour, debates, and important business conducted by special committees 

• Various committees are formed in the Parliament to investigate specific issues and make recommendations. 

How does Parliament make laws? 

• The main function of the Parliament is to make laws for the people. 

• A certain procedure is followed to make laws. 

• A bill goes through several stages to become a law   

• The draft of the proposed law is called a bill. 

Bills can be of many types

1. If the bill is presented by a minister then it is called a government bill 

2. But if the bill is introduced by any member other than the Minister, then  such a bill is called a 'Private Members Bill'. 

Types of Bill 

1. Government Bill

2. Private Members Bill 

3. Finance Bill 

4. Non – Finance Bill 

5. Ordinary Bill 

6. Constitution Amendment Bill 

Bill in Parliament

• Even before the bill is presented in Parliament, there is a lot of debate on  whether there is a need to bring this bill or not. 

• A political party may exert pressure on a government to introduce a bill with the intention of fulfilling its election promises or winning the upcoming elections. 

• While making a bill, many things have to be kept in mind, such as where will the resources required to implement the law be gathered from, how much support and opposition will the bill get, what impact will the proposed law have on the electoral prospects of the ruling party, etc. 

• In the era of coalition governments, the bill proposed by the government should also have the support of all the coalition constituents.  These practical things cannot be ignored. 

• The Cabinet considers all these things before deciding to make a law.

• Once the Cabinet accepts the policy, the work of drafting the bill begins. 

• The ministry to which the bill is related drafts it.

• A Bill can be introduced by any member of either House of Parliament, the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha  (the Minister concerned with the subject on which the Bill is being introduced is often the one who introduces the Bill). 

How is a bill  passed?

• A money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha.  After being passed in the Lok Sabha, it is sent to the Rajya Sabha.

• After the bill is passed in one House,  it is sent to the other House

• When the bill is passed in the other house also,  then the bill is sent to the President 

• This bill becomes a law as soon as it gets the assent of the President 

• The Rajya Sabha can either accept the Money Bill or propose amendments  but the Rajya Sabha cannot reject the Money Bill. 

• If the Rajya Sabha does not take any decision on it for 14 days, then it is considered passed by the Rajya Sabha.

• The Lok Sabha may or may not accept the amendments proposed by the Rajya Sabha to the Bill.

How does the Parliament control the executive?

• In a parliamentary democracy, the executive is formed by the members of  the party or coalition of parties that has a majority in the Lok Sabha  .

• It is possible that after getting the power of majority, the executive starts using its powers arbitrarily.  Parliament controls the executive through various methods.

• In such a situation, parliamentary democracy can turn the cabinet into a dictatorship  in which the House will have to accept whatever the cabinet says.  But when the Parliament is alert, it will still be able to keep regular and effective control over the executive. 

Ways of controlling the executive by the Parliament?

1. Debate – Dispute 

2. Acceptance or rejection of the law 

3. Financial control

4. No-confidence motion 

What does a parliamentary committee do?

• Parliamentary committees are formed for various legislative functions

• These committees play a very important role not only in law making but also in the daily functioning of the House. 

• Parliament sits only during its sessions so it has less time. 

• To make any law, the subject related to it has to be studied in depth. For this, more attention and time needs to be given to it. 

• Apart from this, there are other important tasks  like studying the grant demands of various ministries, investigating the expenditure made by various departments, investigating corruption cases etc. 

• There are 20 such committees related to different departments. These standing committees oversee the work of various departments, their budget expenditure, and bills related to them.

How does the Parliament regulate itself?

• The parliament regulates itself by disciplining it 

• The Speaker of the Parliament is the highest authority in matters of proceedings of the legislature. 

• If a member violates the rules of the House, the Speaker can expel him from the House 

• If a member does not attend the House despite the orders of his party leadership or votes in the House against the party's direction or voluntarily resigns from the party membership, it is called 'defection'. 

• The Speaker can disqualify him from membership of the House. 

Watch Chapter Video