India is the world’s largest democracy. According to any dictionary, democracy is a situation where the country’s citizens choose their representatives. These representatives form the government. The government’s entire body sits together and decides on all the policies to decide on its future. These representatives constitute a legislative body called the parliament. The parliament is the apex body for taking all the decisions. Let us look at some aspects to understand the need for parliament.
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Parliament of India
Before India’s freedom, the lawmakers of the country were the British colonial rule. According to their set of rules, only a handful of people have the right to vote and contribute to the law. After independence, the country’s constitution was formulated in 1950, which granted all its citizens voting rights. Our leaders put an end to all the oppressions by starting the democratic policy. The role of parliament in India is to protect and uphold this democratic policy. Therefore, let us understand what a parliament is.
A parliament is a conglomeration of representatives elected to form the government. The citizens of the country take part in this voting process. During the voting process, the citizens elect representatives from their region. Each of these representatives then takes part in forming the government. Although the citizens do not have a direct say in the assignment of different ministries to different representatives, they have a say in the decision-making process. As a result, democratic rule is maintained in the country.
After the representatives are assigned different ministries in the government, the role of the parliament in India starts. The parliament has two houses in India- the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The elected representatives from the Lok Sabha while the councils of the state form the Rajya Sabha. The President of India holds the prime role to preside over both houses. However, the major discussion and the decision-making process are the Lok Sabha’s work under the prime minister’s leadership.
Why do We Need a Parliament?
To understand the importance of parliament in India, we need to look at the functions. The major functions of the parliament in India are:
Law-Making
To understand why we need a parliament, we need to know the body with the ultimate legislative authorities. It makes the final laws considering all the matters related to the union. The laws made by them are strong and fair, considering the ideas of the major section of the society. During a law-making process, the parliament members put forward the proposals in the form of bills before the parliament members. The members then have a thorough inspection and debate on the proposal, after which the house decides whether to agree on it. Once the house agrees on a proposal, the bill is sent to the President for his/her consent.
The parliament also has a say in the state laws, provided that the state is under Presidential rule. It can also take decisions for the state during emergencies.
Monitoring the Cabinet
The Parliament of India comprises both the elected members as well as the councils of the state. These elected members make the cabinet. The cabinet is the driving force for the government. These cabinet ministers have power over different ministries like home, defence, finance, railways, education, R&D, etc.
To understand what is the purpose of parliament, it is important to understand its role in governing, controlling, and assessing the performance of each of these cabinet ministers. The opposition ministers play a vital role in this process. These ministers must bring forth alternatives to the bills being passed in the cabinet and ensure a healthy discussion.
Amendments in the Constitution
It is important to know why parliament is important concerning its role in introducing amendments in the constitution. The Constitution of India is being prepared on 26th January 1950, based on the scenarios prevalent in those situations focusing on future predicaments out of it. However, after 74 years of independence, the situations might not match according to those conditions. Therefore, the cabinet has the right to introduce amendments in the constitution according to the hour’s need. To introduce an amendment, the parliament needs to have approval from the majority or half of the state legislative assemblies.
Judicial Functions
The parliament also exercises its monitoring rights and power over the judicial system prevalent in the country. The President is bestowed with the supreme role in this regard. However, the parliament can exercise absolute rights to impeach the President on any decision and can remove the judges belonging to the Supreme Court and State High courts. It also ensures that none of the members issue any derogatory statement or action against the parliament house.
Financial Functions
The parliament is also endowed with the role of fixing the budget for the country. The source of income for all governmental jobs is taxes. The parliament needs to decide how to collect the revenue and distribute it in different sectors.
Electoral Functions
All the cabinet ministers will elect the President, Vice-President, speaker, deputy speaker, and deputy chairman.
FAQs on The Need for a Parliament
1. Why do we need Parliament for Financial issues?
Ans. The work of a government is mainly governed by the revenues that are being bestowed for it. The source of such revenues is the taxes paid by the people. The parliament has the responsibility to decide how the taxes will be collected and assigned to different sectors. They will make different categories and assign different rates of taxes for each category. Moreover, they will also decide on the conditions based on which taxes will be collected. Once the taxes are collected, the parliament will decide how to distribute them in different departments. These allotments will be directed to the improvement of each of these departments.
2. What is the Role of Parliament in India?
Ans. The parliament is the apex body in India concerning various conditions. They are endowed with several roles and responsibilities. The major function of the parliament is to form the law. They also take part in crucial monitoring of the cabinet. The parliament also has the power to make amendments to the Constitution of India. The parliament also has judicial and financial functions as well. The members also have an electoral role in choosing important members like President, vice-president, speaker, deputy speaker, deputy chairman, etc. Therefore, to know about the country’s present condition and prospects, it is important to understand the role of parliament in India.
