Detailed Chapter Notes (Part - 1) - Working of Institutions (Practice) - Class 9 PDF Download

The Legislature: Parliament

The Indian Parliament is an important organ of the Central Government. Let us study its composition and powers.

(a) Composition

• The Indian Parliament has two Houses. The Lower House is called the Lok Sabha or the House of the People and the Upper House is known as the Rajya Sabha or the Council of States. 
• The total membership of the Lok Sabha is 551. Out of them, the President of India can, however, nominate two members belonging to the Anglo-Indian community, if it is not adequately represented in the House. 
• The total membership of the Rajya Sabha has been fixed at 250. Out of this number 238 are elected by the different 28 States and seven Union Territories while 12 are nominated by the President in order to give representation to eminent people in the field of literature, science, art, or social service.  

Essential Qualifications for the Members of the Parliament:

• He should be a citizen of India.
• He should be 25 years old for the Lok Sabha and 30 years old for the Rajya Sabha.
• He should not hold any office of profit under the Government of India.
• He should not be either insolvent or bankrupt and should not have served a sentence for an offense.

Note:
An M.P. gets a salary of Rs. 12000 per month in addition to many allowances [such as Daily Allowance (Rs. 500), Constituency Allowance (Rs. 10,000 per month) and office expenses (Rs. 14,000 per month)] etc.

➢ Speaker of the Lok Sabha

• In order to conduct the business of the Lok Sabha at the centre and Vidhan Sabha in the states in a proper manner, the Indian Constitution has made a provision for the office of the Speaker and the Deputy-Speaker.
•  The Lok Sabha at the Centre and Vidhan Sabhas in the States elect the Speaker in their very first session from among its own members.
• The Speaker is an important or perhaps the most important member of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. 

Duties of the Speaker:

• He presides over the meetings of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha and conducts its business. 
• Resolutions or bills can be moved only with his permission. 
• It is he who decides whether a bill is a money bill or not. 
• It is he who adjourns meetings of the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. 
• All members, including Government members and ministers, have to obey his authority.

(b) Powers and Functions of the Parliament

Although the primary function of the Parliament is law-making, our Parliament has to perform a galaxy of other functions too.

(i) Legislative or Law-Making Functions

• It frames new laws and amends or repeals them, if necessary, on the 97 Subjects of the Union List and all the Residuary Subjects which have not found a place in any of the lists.
• In certain cases, it can enact laws on the Subjects of the State List also.
• The Parliament along with the State legislature, can pass laws regarding the 47 Subject on the Concurrent List. In case of any clash, the law passed by the Parliament shall prevail.
• The Union Parliament has the sole right to amend the Constitution, although in certain cases, these amendments should be ratified by a majority of the states. The States can, in no case, initiate an amendment to the Constitution.

(ii) Control on the National Finance or Financial Powers

• The Union Parliament is the custodian of the national purse. Neither a penny can be spent on any item nor a paisa can be collected by way of taxes without the prior approval of the parliament. 
• The Parliament passes the Budget of the Union Government. It is, however, empowered to vote for a cut in the Budget or to reject it altogether. 
• Thus, the Parliament acts as the controller of the national finance.

(iii) Control over the Government or the Executive Powers

The most important function of the Parliament is to exercise control over the Government

• The Government is directly responsible to the Parliament for its acts of Commission and Commission, if the Government faults the constitution, it can be voted out of office by passing a vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister the Ministry as a whole, or any of its members.
• The members of the Parliament can move an adjournment motion on any urgent matter requiring the immediate attention of the Government. If such a motion is admitted, the Minister in charge of such a department, where any untoward event has happened, is reprimanded for the flaws or failure of his ministry.
• Then again, an hour a day in the daily routine of the Parliament, when in session, is reserved for asking questions from the Government. The members can ask any question relating to the administration of the state and the Ministers are obliged to answer them. In this way, they can keep a check on the functioning of the various departments under different ministers.
• Not only this, the parliament can hold the strings of the Government tight by voting a cut in the annual budget. The salaries and allowances of the ministers are decided by the parliament.

(iv) Judicial Powers or Functions

The Parliament enjoys certain judicial powers also. 

• It can impeach the president, a judge of the Supreme Court, or the High Court, in case they are found counteracting against the Constitution or misusing their status, or indulging in corruption of any nature.

(v) Electoral Powers or Functions

• The Parliament plays an important role in the election of the president and the Vice-President. 
• Moreover, the Lok Sabha elects its own Speaker and Deputy Speaker from its own members, the Rajya Sabha elects its Deputy Chairman.

(c) How is a Bill Passed in the Parliament?

• The proposal for the law when introduced in the legislature is called a bill. 
• When a bill is passed by the proper procedure, it is called a law. Until it is not passed, the bill is not called a law.

➢ Passing of an Ordinary Bill 

• After the introduction, a bill is considered several times before its passage. The progress of considering the bill is known as its reading. In the case of the Ordinary Bill, three readings are gone through in each House.
• In the first stage, only the name and the purpose of the bill are given and the same is circulated among all the members of the House can introduce the bill.
  If the house is in favour of the introduction of the bill, which is called its first Reading, then the bill goes to the second stage.
• In the second stage, clause by the discussion of the bill is taken and some changes are made by the approval of the House.
  Sometimes, a bill is sent to a small committee for its special recommendations. If these recommendations are approved by the House they are incorporated in the bill.
• Then comes the last stage or the third stage when the bill as a whole is put to vote. If it is passed by a simple majority, then it is sent to the other House, where the same procedure is followed.
• Finally, when the bill is passed by both the Houses of Parliament, It is sent to the President for his assent after his assent, it becomes a law.

The difference in the Procedure of passing an Ordinary Bill and a Money Bill :

• An ordinary Bill can be introduced in any of the two Houses of the Parliament (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha).
  But a Money Bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha.
• An Ordinary Bill can be introduced both by the Government or by any member of the House.
  But a Money Bill can only be introduced by the Government.
• An Ordinary Bill is to be passed by both the House of the Parliament and then it is sent to the President for his assent. If both the Houses don’t agree, then a joint sitting of the two Houses is called under the chairmanship of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, and then it is passed or rejected by a majority of the members present.
  As for a Money Bill is concerned, the Rajya  Sabha has no powers whatsoever to make a change in the bill passed by the Lok Sabha. It can only delay the passage of the Money Bill for 14 days only and after that the Money Bill is deemed to have been passed by both the Houses.

(d) When can the Parliament legislate on the subject provided in the State list?

The constitution has established a federation in India but still, the Centre has made more powerful.
In certain circumstances, the Parliament can legislate on state matters:

• If the Rajya Sabha or the Council of States by 2/3 majority passes a resolution that a particular subject mentioned in the state list has assumed national importance, then the Parliament can legislate on that subject.
• If the legislature of two or more states requests the Parliament, then it can make laws on that subject.
• When a state of emergency is proclaimed in the country.

(e) No-Confidence Motion

• In a Parliamentary set-up, the Council of Ministers works till it enjoys the confidence of the Legislature. 
• If a successful motion of no-confidence is passed in the Parliament, the Council of Ministers has to resign and if on the other hand, the majority votes against the motion, the Government survives. 
• No-confidence motions are very important. Because when a debate is held on the no-confidence motion members discuss the general policies of the Government in detail and not the matter of a particular bill.
• In such a way, much light is shed on different problems and the attitude of different parties towards them.

The Central Executive

The Central Executive consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Ministers, and the Bureaucracy of the Civil Services.
The president is the head of the state, while the Prime Minister is the head of the Government. Let us know about them in some details.

(a) The President

Term of Office of the President:
The President of India holds office for five years. He can be re-elected once after the expiry of his tenure.
He gets a monthly salary of Rs. 50,000 in addition to a number of allowances, perks and privileges.

Essential Qualifications for the President:

• He should be a citizen of India.
• He should be of thirty-five years of age at the time of the election.
• He should not be insolvent or bankrupt.
• He should not hold any office of profit under the Central or State Government. If He holds any office, he should vacate such a post before seeking the election.
• He should not be a pronounced offender or a sentenced criminal under the law of the land.   

➢ Election of the President

• The President of India is not directly elected by the people. He is elected indirectly by an electoral college composed of the elected members of both the Houses of the Parliament as well as the Legislative Assemblies of the states in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. 
• Under this system, no vote goes to waste. The vote is cast by the ballot. 
• The value of the vote of a member of the State Legislative Assembly is determined by the population of that state. 
• The voting strength of all the Legislative Assemblies of all the States taken together is equal to the voting strength of the two Houses of the Parliament.
• The Person to be elected as the President of India must get a particular quota.
  The quota is determined by the following formula:
• The President is elected for five years term, if he so desires, he can seek election for another five years. 

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➢ Removal of the President 

• There is a special procedure for the removal of the President. He can be removed by impeachment for violation of the Constitution. 
• This impeachment can be initiated in either House of the Parliament by at least one-fourth of the total members of that House. 
• The notice for this purpose is sent to the President and 14 days later, it can be taken up for consideration by the House concerned. 
• Such a resolution must be passed by a two-thirds majority of the total number of the House. 
• Then the other House investigates the charges. If the other House approves the charges by a two-thirds majority again, the President is removed. 
• The President has the full right to defend himself personally or through his authorized counsel. 
• The procedure for the removal of the President has thus been made difficult because the President holds an important or the rather most important position under the Constitution.

(b) Powers and Functions of the President

The President of India enjoys vast powers. He has to perform various functions spread over to executive, legislative, judicial, and financial fields. It must be mentioned here that in actual practice, these powers are actually exercised by the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers.

➢ Executive Powers of the President

• Administration of the whole country is carried on in his name.
• He makes important appointments like those of the Prime Minister of India, Central Ministers, Governors of the States, Ambassadors, and Judges.
• He is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces and declares war as well as concludes peace-treaties.
• He receives the credentials of ambassadors from other countries.
• The President has the power of directing, coordinating, and controlling the state Governments.
• The administration of the Union Territories and the Border Areas is the responsibility of the President.

➢ Legislative Powers of the President 

• The first session of the Parliament is addressed by the President in which he lays emphasis on the internal and external policies of the Government.
• He can summon or prorogue either House of the Parliament.
• He can dissolve the Lok Sabha and order fresh elections.
• He can address a Joint Session of the Parliament of each one of the Houses separately.
• He nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha from different strata of society and 2 members to the Lok Sabha to represent the Anglo-Indian community in India if none of their members gets a seat in the Lok Sabha.
• He can send messages to either House of Parliament.
• He is an integral part of the Parliament; therefore, no bill passed by both the Houses of the Parliament can become a law unless he signs it.
• He issues ordinances when the Parliament is not in session.