Bishwa Nath Singh:
There are few friends from abroad who had shown their inquisitiveness to know about Parliamentary system of our country India knowing it is the best in the world. Let me explain to them about our Lok Sabha( Lower House )& Rajya Sabha (Upper House) in brief so that they can enrich their knowledge!
(Photo of Dr.S. Radhakrishnan,the first Vice-President of India cum Chairman of the Rajya Sabha )
Share You, Sadhana Singh, Manjunatha Swamy S N and Brajendra Thakur like this.
Manjunatha Swamy S N ;
GOOD ATTEMPT MR SINGH
Bishwa Nath Singh :
Dr.S. Radhakrishnan,the first Vice-President of India had honor to be the first ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha(Upper House that held its first sitting on May 13, 1952 whereas Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar was the first Speaker of Lok Sabha... (Lower House) that was constituted on April 17,1952 after India's first general election.Let us pay our respectful homage to them and pay our humble obeisances to their lotus feet!Now, let me describe about Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha in brief.
The Lok Sabha is known as the House of the People, that is known as the lower house of Parliament .Its members is the directly elected lower house of the Parliament of India. As of 2009 there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India. The Constitution limits the Lok Sabha to a maximum of five hundred fifty two members, including no more than twenty members representing people from the Union Territories, and two members to represent the Anglo-Indian community .The current size of the Lok Sabha has five hundred forty five members including the Speaker and two appointed members, if any. Each Lok Sabha is formed for a five-year term, after which it is automatically dissolved, unless extended by a Proclamation of Emergency which may extend the term in one-year increments. An exercise to redraw Lok Sabha constituencies' boundaries has been carried out by the Delimitation Commission based on the Indian census of 2001. This exercise, which was supposed to be carried out after every census, was suspended in 1976 following a constitutional amendment to avoid adverse effects of the family planning program which was being implemented. Today, the Lok Sabha has its own TV channel, Lok Sabha TV, headquartered within the Parliament premises. The Speaker presides over the sessions of the Lok Sabha and conducts the business in the house. He/she decides whether a bill is a money bill or a non money bill. He/she maintains discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for their unruly behaviour by suspending them.The Lok Sabha shares legislative power with the Rajya Sabha, except in the area of Money Bills, in which case the Lok Sabha has the ultimate authority. In the case of money bill it is only sent to the Rajya Sabha for recommendations and in the case of other related issues it is sent with a period of 14 working days. If it is not returned in that span of time it is considered as passed. If conflicting legislation is enacted by the two Houses, a joint sitting is held to resolve the differences. In such a session, the members of the Lok Sabha would generally prevail, since the Lok Sabha includes more than twice as many members as the Rajya Sabha.Three sessions of Lok Sabha take place in a yearA)Budget session: February to May. (B)Monsoon session: July to September. & (C)Winter session: November to December. On normal business days, the Lok Sabha assembles from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and again from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The first hour of every sitting is called the Question Hour, during which questions posed by members may be assigned to specific Union Government Ministries, to be answered at a fixed date in the future. Each Lok Sabha is formed for a five-year term, after which it is automatically dissolved, unless extended by a Proclamation of Emergency which may extend the term in one-year increments. The Speaker is the presiding officer of the lower house of Parliament of India. His/her role is similar to that of Speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system of Government. The speaker is elected in the very first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the General elections for a term of five years from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha. He/she is supposed to resign from his/her original party so that a speaker could remain impartial. The Speaker presides over the sessions of the Lok Sabha and conducts the business in the house. He/she decides whether a bill is a money bill or a non money bill. The Speaker decides on the agenda to be taken up for discussion during the meeting. The date of election of speaker is fixed by the President. The First Lok Sabha was constituted on April 17,1952 after India's first general election. The first Lok Sabha lasted its full tenure of five years and was dissolved on April 4,1957.It would not be out of place to mention that the present ongoing fifteenth Lok Sabha was formed in May 2009.
The Rajya Sabha is known as the Council of States which is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Its membership is limited to two hundred fifty members, twelve 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 retiring every two years.The Rajya Sabha meets in continuous session 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. However, since the Lok Sabha has more than twice as many members than the Rajya Sabha, it holds de facto veto power in such joint sessions. The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, is elected from amongst its members, takes care of the day-to-day business of the Upper House in the absence of the Chairman of Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha held its first sitting on May 13, 1952.