Indian Parliament: The President, Lok Sabha, And Rajya Sabha

The Indian Parliament name in Hindi is Bhartiya Sansad, is the supreme legislative body of the Indian Republic. The Parliament of India comprises the President and two houses, namely Lok Sabha (Council of State) and Rajya Sabha (House of the people). As the head of the legislature, the President retains complete authority to direct and defer either house of parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha. The President can implement these powers only upon the advice of the Prime Minister and the Union Council of Ministers.

Members of Parliament India

The elected members by the people of India as well as members appointed by the president to either house of parliament are referred to as Members of Parliament India. The Members of Lower House of the Parliament i.e Lok Sabha are directly elected by the Indian public voting whereas the Members of Parliament, Rajya Sabha are elected by the members of State and Union Territories Legislature. The meeting for the Members of Parliament India used to be held at Sansad Bhavan, New Delhi.

What are the Three Components of Parliament?

The three components of Parliament include

• The President

• Lok Sabha, and 

• Rajya Sabha

The three components of Parliament are discussed below.

President of India

The president of the Republic of India is appointed by the electoral college including the elected members of both houses of parliament and elected members of the Legislative Assembly of the State and Union Territories for a period of 5 years starting from the date on which he enters upon his office. The President is the head of the executive and also a constituent of the Indian parliament. The president performs several executives as well as legislative functions along with other functions.

The Prime Minister is appointed by the President and other ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The President of India is authorized to appoint constitutional functionaries such as Governors, Judges of both supreme court and high court, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, chairman and manager of Union Public Service Commissioner, Chief Election Commissioner, Financial Commissioner, and other Election commissioners.

As the constituent of Indian Parliament, the President performs certain important functions such as directing and holding up the houses, directing the joint sitting of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the event of disagreement, directing either one or both houses of the parliament or both houses collectively joint together and dissolving Lok Sabha. 

Following are the qualifications essential for a candidate seeking election to the office of president.

• He should not be less than 35 years of age. 

• He should be a citizen of India

• He should not hold any office of profit.

• He should be well qualified for becoming a member of the Lok Sabha.

• Should not be bankrupt or mentally unstable.

Tenure of Indian President

The President is appointed for five years. He can be removed from office through the process of impeachment by the Parliament.

Power And Functions of Indian President 

The power and functions of the President of India are divided into two different categories, namely General or Routine Power and Emergency Powers.

General Power of President

• The President summons both houses of the Indian Parliament timely.

• The President signed the bill passed by the Parliament. On the other hand, the President directs rules when the Parliament is not in session.

• The President appoints the Prime Minister, Governor of the States, Council of Ministers, Judges, and Chief Justice of the High Court and Supreme Court, the CAG and other important offices. 

• The President laid down the Union Budget before the parliament and also other reports as well. 

• All the International treaties and negotiations with other countries are signed on behalf of the President.

• The President can minimize or lessen any sort of sentence. He retains the authority to forgive the death sentence awarded to a convict on receiving a petition of mercy.

• The President is a supreme leader of the armed forces and appoints three chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. He is also authorized to declare war and peace.

Emergency Power

• State emergency can be imposed in a state if the president fails to run constitutionally.

• The President can reveal emergency powers if there is a possibility of financial stability in the country.

• The President can declare a National Emergency on the ground of war, external aggression, or armed rebellion in the country.

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of People, comprises 552 members, out of which 530 members are directly elected from territorial constituencies in the states, and 20 members are from Union Territories. Seats for both the Scheduled caste and the Scheduled tribe are also reserved in Lok Sabha. The Representation of People Act makes provision for the distribution of seats to various states and Union Territories.

The current actual strength of Lok Sabha is 545, which includes the speaker and two nominated members. The first Lok Sabha under the constitution was established after the General election held in 1952. Unless dissolved, the parliament house Lok Sabha continues to work for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting. 

Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha, also known as the Council of State, includes not more than 250 members, out of which 238 members represent the state and Union Territories and 12 members are nominated by the President. The representatives of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of State Assemblies with respect to the system of proportional representation through a single transferable vote. 

The representatives of Union Territories in Rajya Sabha are selected with respect to the law enacted by the parliament. The twelve members of the Rajya Sabha appointed by the President of India are the person having special knowledge or practical experience in issues like art, literature, science, and social service. Presently, the actual strength of the Rajya Sabha is 245.

The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and is not supposed to go under dissolution. However, one-third of members of the Rajya Sabha retire biennially. A member of Rajya who is elected for full-term holds on to his membership for six years. He is also eligible for re-election.

What Should Be The Qualification For Members of Parliament India?

In order to be elected as a member of Parliament India, a person must:

• Be a citizen of India 

• Not be less than 25 years of age in the case of Lok Sabha and not less than 30 years of age in the case of Rajya Sabha.

What are The Function and Powers of Indian Parliament?

• The primary function of the Indian Parliament is to make laws for the jurisdiction of the country.

• The parliament has the power to make changes to the constitution.

• The parliament can remove the President and judges of the High Court and Supreme Court from office through allegations of violation of the Indian constitution.

• The Government can neither spend money without the approval of Parliament nor impose any tax upon the public. The Government places the budget before the initiation of the Financial year. The Parliament discusses the budget and gives its approval to the bill.

• The Parliament implements control over the Executive through zero hours, question hour, calling Attention Motion, Adjournment Motion, Non - Confidence motion, and other discussions.

Facts Related to Indian Parliament

• The Parliament of India represents “Continuity” as its design is circular. 

• The Indian Parliament Library is the second largest library in the World.

• Both the houses of parliament, i.e. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, are horseshoes in shape.

• The British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker designed the House of Parliament.

• The Central Hall of the Indian Parliament is located in the middle of the parliament house. The two houses  Rajya Sabha (Upper House), Lok Sabha (Lower House) and Library Hall, are located radially outside the central hall at equiangular spacing. The three garden courts are located in the middle of these three chambers.

• The tenure of Rajya Sabha's members is six years, whereas the tenure of Lok Sabha is five years.

• The first hour of every session of both the houses is termed as Question hour. The members of Parliament India can ask questions related to the government policies, general administration, etc. The ruling party needs to give oral answers to the question.

• The Question hour at both the houses of  Parliament starts at 11 AM whereas Zero hour starts at 12 Noon.

• The Question hour at Rajya Sabha during winters sometimes starts at 12 noon and zero-hour starts at 11 AM.

• The time period after the question hour is termed as Zero hours.

Conclusion

Thus, in order to conclude, we can say that the Parliament acts as supreme legislative authority of the entire country where the people of the country sit together and discuss as well as debates on the important topics and issues of the country and make laws and regulations for the country. In this article, we have completed the topic of Indian Parliament along with the important details.