This page is intended to inform you about the indian parliament. If you are from South Asia or originating from one of the South Asian countries, you can support the idea of representing South Asian origin people in the parliament of their country of origin, please fill the form which is at the bottom of this page.
How does the Indian Parliament function?
The Parliament of the Indian Union includes the President of the Republic and two chambers: Rajya Sabha or the Council of the States and Lok Sabha or the chamber of the People (Constitution Article 79). The association of the President and the chambers signifies an intrinsic collaboration of the executive and legislative powers and their common contribution to the federal legislation. Lok Sabha ensures the representation of the people in the Indian Union; Rajya Sabha is in response to the federal structure of the Republic. The principles which determine the organization and the powers of the Assemblies results largely from their respective functions.
The organization and the powers of the Assemblies
The organization of the chambers of the Parliament includes a whole range of rules governing recruitment, the statute of members, constitution and operation of the internal bodies. These rules have evolved during the last fifty years in ensuring the representation of public and Member States of the Union, and in guaranteeing the effectiveness of parliamentary work. The organization of the chambers of the Indian Parliament respects the constitutional regulations but is free to lay down its own rules of procedure (Const. Article 118 1). The powers of the parliamentary Assemblies are unequally distributed. If they are identical as regards constitutional revisions, those of Rajya Sabha do not have much legislative powers.
The necessary majority required of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, in the event of dissension, gives an undeniable advantage to Lok Sabha with its 545 members against the 245 of Rajya Sabha. The political responsibility of the government can be put before the Lok Sabha. Article 368 of the Constitution determines the procedure of constitutional revision. The chambers must first of all give their agreement to the examination of any project or proposal for a revision; to receive the sanction of the President, a project or a proposal must be approved by each one of chambers separately with a majority of two thirds to less of the members present and votering. The essential mission of the chambers of Parliament is to vote the laws.
The recruitment of the Parliaments
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are primarily recruited on the basis of vote, direct for the first, indirect for the second. The Constitution, the amended laws of 1950 and 1951 on the Representation of the People, the payments of 1960 on the inscription of the voters and the 1961 on electoral course of operation, determine the mode of their elections.
Lok Sabha
Includes 545 deputies elected by the direct vote within the framework of the States, of the Territories of the Union, and the Community anglo-Indian. All Indiens citizens are entitled to vote including the two sexes, above 21 years old and not suffering from an incapacity as envisaged by the Constitution or the law. With these basic conditions is added a formal requirement: the inscription on the electoral roll. The voting rights are attached to the possession of citizenship. Foreigners residing in India do not have voting rights. The general conditions of eligibility are determined by reference to that of the electorate and are supplemented by a certain number of particular provisions adopted by the Constitution and the law of 1951 amended on the Representation of the People. The courts ensure the respect of it. To be eligible, it is necessary to be a voter (RPA-1951; Art. 4 d). The MP's are directly elected with the uninominal system with only one turn within the framework of each parliamentary district. The candidate who obtaines the greatest number of votes is elected. It rests to the President of the Republic to convene the voters at the dates recommended by the Electoral Commission within the framework of the provisions in force. Its decision is published in the form of " notification " in the Official Journal of the Union. The elections can be spread out over several days. The electoral procedure is placed under the direction of the electoral Commission and its agents.
For Rajya Sabha
It includes a maximum of 250 members including 238 representative of States and Territories of the Union and 12 named by the President of the Republic (Const. Article 80). Currently, the Rajya Sabha includes 245 members. The representatives of the States are elected by their legislative Assembly. The members of Rajya Sabha named by the President must have a particular knowledge or have experiences in the fields of literature, science, art or the social services. The normal term of the office in Rajya Sabha is six years, that is to say one year more than in Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha cannot be dissolved. Its renewal is ensured per every two years, for the members named as for the elected members (Const. Article 83). The conditions of eligibility in the Rajya Sabha are similar to the Lok Sabha.
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