rajya sabha | Notes

The Rajya Sabha or the Council of States is called as upper house.
It has a total number of 250 members including 238 from all the states and union territories and 12 members nominated by the President.
Second chamber of the Parliament of India.
The Rajya Sabha is an institution to protect the rights and interests of the states like the senate in USA.
It was constituted on 3rd April, 1952
The members for Rajya Sabha are elected by the members of the respective *State Legislative Assemblies (MLAs).
12 distinguished members from the fields of literature, science, art, and social service were nominated by the President of India.
Unlike House of People, Council of States is not subject to dissolution but one third of the members retire every second year. The term of the individual member is six years.
The members of the Council of States are elected by their respective state legislative assemblies in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

Equal Status with [[Lok Sabha]]

Introduction and passage of

ordinary bills.
Constitutional amendment bills.
financial bills involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India.
Election and impeachment of the President.
Election and removal of the [[Vice-President]].
However, Rajya Sabha alone can initiate the removal of the vice-President.
He is removed by a resolution passed by the Rajya Sabha by a special majority and agreed to by the Lok Sabha by a simple majority.
Making recommendation to the President for the removal of [[Chief Justice]] and judges of Supreme Court and high courts, [[chief election commissioner]] and comptroller and auditor general.
Approval of ordinances issued by the [[President]].
Approval of proclamation of all three types of [[EMERGENCY]] by the President.
Selection of ministers including the Prime Minister.
Under the Constitution, the ministers including the Prime Minister can be members of either House.
However, irrespective of their membership, they are responsible only to the Lok Sabha.
Consideration of the reports of the constitutional bodies like [[Finance Commission]], [[UPSC]], comptroller and auditor general, etc.
Enlargment of the jurisdiction of the [[Supreme Court]] and the UPSC

Unequal Status with Lok Sabha

A [[Money Bill]] can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha.
Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a Money Bill.
It should return the bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days, either with recommendations or without recommendations.
The Lok Sabha can either accept or reject all or any of the recommendation of the Rajya Sabha.
In both the cases, the money bill is deemed to have been passed by the two Houses.
A financial bill, not containing solely the matters of Article 110, also can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha. But, with regard to its passage, both the Houses have equal powers.
The final power to decide whether a particular bill is a Money Bill or not is vested in the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
The Speaker of Lok Sabha presides over the joint sitting of both the Houses.
The Lok Sabha with greater number wins the battle in a joint sitting except when the combined strength of the ruling party in both the Houses is less than that of the opposition parties.
Rajya Sabha can only discuss the budget but cannot vote on the demands for grants (which is the exclusive privilege of the Lok Sabha).
A resolution for the discontinuance of the national emergency can be passed only by the Lok Sabha and not by the Rajya Sabha.
The Rajya Sabha cannot remove the council of ministers by passing a no confidence motion.
This is because the Council of ministers is collectively responsible only to the Lok Sabha.
But, the Rajya Sabha can discuss and criticize the policies and activities of the government.

Special Powers of Rajya Sabha

It can authorize the Parliament to make a law on a subject enumerated in the [[State List]] (Article 249).
It can authorize the Parliament to create new All-India Service common to both the Centre and states (Article 312).

Rajya Sabha in our constitutional system is not as weak as that of the [[House of Lords]] in the British constitutional system nor as strong as that of the Senate in the [[American constitutional system]].

Functioning of Rajya Sabha

The [[Vice-President]] of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
The Chairman presides over the proceedings and regulates the Rajya Sabha. Except the [[Money Bill]] / Financial Bill all other bills will be placed before the Rajya Sabha for discussion, questions, motions and resolutions under the rules of procedure and conduct of business.
The functions of Rajya Sabha may broadly be categorised as: Legislative, Financial, Deliberative and Federal.
Legislation is by far the most important business of Rajya Sabha, as indeed of Parliament and in this sphere, Rajya Sabha enjoys almost equal powers with Lok Sabha.
In the U.S.A, the representatives in the state council is called as Senate where every state has equal representation irrespective of size and population of the states. But in India, the representation in the Rajya Sabha is based on its size of population
For example, Uttar Pradesh with the highest population elects 31 members to Rajya Sabha; on the other hand, Sikkim, the least populated state, elects only one member to Rajya Sabha.
Tamil Nadu elects 18 members to the Rajya Sabha.
The number of members to be elected from each State has been fixed by the [[4th schedule]] of the Constitution.
Members of the Rajya Sabha are elected for a term of six years and then they can be re-elected.
The Rajya Sabha is known as Permanent House of the Parliament that never gets fully dissolved.

Who can be a Member of Rajya Sabha?

Must be a citizen of India
Must not be less than 30 years
Under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, a person had to be an elector in a parliamentary constituency in the State from where he seeks election to Rajya Sabha.
It may, however, be mentioned that the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 2003, which amended Section 3 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, has done away with the requirement of being a resident of State or Union territory from which a person seeks to contest elections to Rajya Sabha.
He/She has to be an elector in a parliamentary constituency anywhere in India.