Q 1 – What is Legislature?
Ans. The legislature is one of the three organs of the Government of the modern state. Although its main function is to make a law it performs a number of other functions like representational and deliberate functions. The legislature has financial and administrative control over the executive.
Q 2 – What is a bicameral legislature?
Ans. There are two types of legislatures. Where there is only one house, they are known as the unicameral legislature, and where there are two houses they are known as a bicameral legislature. India has a bicameral legislature in the center and in five states.
Q 3 – Write the composition of Lok Sabha.
Ans. Lok Sabha is the lower house of the Indian Parliament. It has a total strength of 543 members. However, it has a maximum of 550 members which is fixed on the basis of population. The members are elected directly by the people. The minimum age to become a member of the Lok Sabha is 25 years. Eligible voter of a minimum of 18 years cast their votes in this election.
Q 4 – What are the functions of the speaker of Lok Sabha?
Ans. The presiding officer of the Lok Sabha is known as the speaker of Lok Sabha who is elected by the members of Lok Sabha from themselves. Speaker conducts the proceeding of the house and maintains discipline and decorum in the house.
Q 5 – How the Rajya Sabha is compared?
Ans. Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the Indian Parliament. It is known as the council of states because it represents the interest of the states.-Its maximum capacity is 250 members, out of it238 an elected by the members of state assemblies, and 12 members are nominated by the President of India from the people who have earned the name in different fields like science, literature, art, social service, cinema, and sports.
Q 6 – Who presides over the meetings of the Rajya Sabha?
Ans. Vice President of India is the Capacity of ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha who presides over, the meetings of Rajya Sabha and conducts the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha.
Q 7 – What is Bill and when it become Law?
Ans. The proposal to make a law is called a bill. When it is passed by both the Houses of Parliament and got the assent of the Indian President it became law.
Q 8 – Who amends the Indian constitution?
Ans. Parliament has the power to amend the constitution by following the definite procedure given in Art 368. State Assemblies have limited power in the amendment of the Constitution.
Q 9 – What constitutes the Indian parliament?
Ans. Followings are known as three organs of Indian Parliament:
- Indian President
- Lok Sabha (House of people)
- Rajya Sabha (Council of states)
Q 10 – Give four arguments in favor of the bicameral legislature.
Ans.
- It gives the opportunity to re-discuss in detail a bill that is passed in haste in the lower house.
- It helps in making a public opinion.
- It is an essential federal system of government.
- A bicameral legislature is necessary to give representation to the minorities.
Q 11 – Give four arguments against the bicameral legislature.
Ans.
1. Bicameral legislatures are unnecessary
2. They cause avoidable delays.
3. They cause unnecessary expenditure and computation
4. They are unrepresentative in nature
Q 12 – Name the states which have bicameral legislation.
Ans. Following five states of India have bicameral legislation
- Jammu & Kashmir.
- Bihar
- Karnataka
- Maharashtra
- Uttar Pradesh
Q 13 – In which areas Rajya Sabha is weak in comparison to Lok sabha.
Ans. Rajya Sabha is weaker in comparison to Lok Sabha in the following areas:-
- Legislative field (It can delay a bill only for 6 months)
- Financial field (It can delay money bill only for 14 days)
- Executive field (It can bring a no-confidence motion against the executive)
Q 14 – Write two special power of Rajya Sabha.
Ans.
- It can declare a subject of National importance by 2/3 majority resolution.
- It can declare a service as AH India service by 2/3 majority resolution.
Q 15 – What is the main function of the Legislature in the modern state?
Ans. Legislatures of modem states perform the following functions whatever may be the forms of government:
- Discussion, debate, and deliberations on public issues.
- Legislative function:- Enactment of law is the primary function of legislation.
- Financial functions:- Legislatures control the expenditure. The executive cannot spend even a single penny without the approval of the Legislature.
- Executive functions:- Executive is controlled by the legislature by different methods.
- Constitutional amendment functions
- Judicial functions.
- Electoral functions
- Emergency powers.
- Miscellaneous functions
Q 16 – Name the states which have a bicameral legislature and how bicameral legislature can be introduced.
Ans. The following five states have bicameral legislature:
- Uttar Pradesh
- Bihar
- Jammu & Kashmir
- Maharashtra.
- Karnataka
The Upper house in a state can be withdrawn or introduced at the request of the concerned state by constitutional amendment
Q 17 – What are the main functions of the Lok Sabha speaker?
Ans. The speaker of Lok Sabha performs the following functions:
- To preside over the meetings of Lok Sabha.
- To maintain discipline and decorum in the house
- To allow the introductions of the bill in the house.
- To decide the nature of the bill
- To interpret the rules of the house
- To constitute different committees.
- To safeguard the privilege of the member of the parliament and house itself.
- To refer the bills to different committees.
- To conduct the business of the house and decide the term of the speakers.
- To exercise the casting vote in case of a tie on a bill.
Q 18 – How the parliament exercises control over the executive?
Ans. The Parliament exercises administrative and financial control as the executive in the following ways:
- It discusses, debate and make a public opinion on different policy matters of the executive.
- It molds the decisions of the government.
- It controls the arbitrariness of the government.
- Executive can not make any expedition without the approval of the Parliament
- The executive has to give the report of expenditure before the Parliament.
Q 19 – Differentiate between
1. Government bilk and Private member bill
2. Ordinary bill and a money bill
3. Private bill and ordinary bill
Ans.
- Government bill All the bills; which are introduced by the ministers are called the Government bill while bills which are introduced by ordinal members are called private member bill.
- Ordinary bills and money billAll the bills which are dealing with income and expenditure are called money bills and all other rum-money bills are called ordinary bills.
- Private bill and an ordinary bill:-The bill that is related to a particular area, person a group is a private bill, and a bill that is related to the common general public is known as the General bill.
Q 20 – Write the main functions of Parliament.
Ans. Parliament performs the following functions:-
- It discusses the issues of public importance
- It makes laws.
- It discusses, approves, and passes the budget.
- It exercises control on the executive.
- Parliament members take part in the election of President and Vice-President.
- Parliament makes amendments in the Constitution.
- Parliament brings and listens and passes the improvement against the President, Vice-Present, and judges of Supreme court and High Courts.
- Parliament approves the decision of declaration of emergency.
Q 21 – Tell the areas in which Rajya Sabha has equal powers.
Ans. Rajya Sabha enjoys equal powers with Lok Sabha in the following areas:
- In discussion and debate on the issues of public interest and to help in making a public opinion.
- In the area of a constitutional amendment, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have equal power. No amendment bill will become Act until and unless it is passed by both houses separately. Amendment bill can be introduced in either house of Parliament.
- In judicial matters also Lok sabha and Rajya sabha have equal powers as Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha can initiate impeachment proceedings against the President, Vice President, and judges of the Supreme court and High court.
- Rajya Sabha has also emergency powers which it shares with Lok Sabha.
Q 22 – Write the various steps in the Lawmaking process.
Ans. Followings are various stages in the law-making process:
- Preparation of the bills
- Introduction of the bill in either House (First reading)
- Second Reading
- Committee stage
- Report stage
- Introduction of the bill in the second house.
- President’s assent.
Q 23 – Discuss the compositions of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Ans. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are two houses of the Indian Parliament. Lok Sabha is the Lower house and Rajya Sabha is the upper house. Lok Sabha has a maximum capacity of 550 members which are elected by the people by direct elections. A person of a minimum of 25 years of age can be a member of the Lok Sabha. Every person 18 years of age is eligible to cast his vote in this election.
Rajya Sabha is a permanent house and cannot be dissolved Every member enjoys the tenure of 6 years. Its one-third of members are retired after every second year and new members are elected by the respective state assembly by a single transferable vote system.
Its total strength is 250 members out of where 238 members are elected and the rest 12 members are nominated by the President of India. To become a member of the Rajya Sabha one should be a member of a minimum of 30 years of age. Vice President of India acts as ex-officio Chairman Parliament of Rajya Sabha and conducts its meetings.
Q 24 – What is the importance of the committee system in the Indian parliamentary system?
Ans. A significant feature of the legislative process is the appointment of different committees for a different purposes. These committees play a vital role not merely in law-making but also in day to day business of the house. Since the business of the Parliament is limited, it remains to enable to go into every detail of the bill.
Due to increasing demands also Parliament gets limited time for a bill. It is because of this committees are appointed to deal with different kinds of bills and examine these in detail and in all aspects like administrative, political, financial, and technical. These committees are very powerful and can ask for any detail from the concerned department. They can investigate corruption cases also. At present, there are much more than twenty department-related committees.
Besides the standing committees, there is also some Joint parliament committee (appointed for a specific function). They are appointed to discuss particular bills or for the purpose of investigating financial irregularities. Members of joint committees are selected from both houses.
The Committee system has definitely reduced the burden of Parliament and has helped a great deal in studying and examining the bills minutely, thus helped in making good laws.
Q 25 – How the business of the house is conducted?
Ans. Parliament is a very auspicious forum for discussing, debating, and policy-making. Therefore it is very necessary that such discussions and debates must be meaningful and in an orderly manner so that functions of the Parliament are carried out in a smooth and dignified manner.
The Constitution has itself made certain provisions to ensure smoothness. conduct of business. Every house is presided by presiding offers who are the final authority in matters of regulating the business, of the house. There are many ways are which the presiding officer controls the behavior of the members and maintains the discipline of the house.’
The business of the house is carried out according to the well-established traditions, rules, and regulations of the house. The business of the house is conducted according to the well-established procedure. As said the presiding officer plays a decisive role in conducting the house in a given manner and maintains discipline and decorum of the house. He has weaponry in his arms for this purpose. He gives the rules on every issue as per his interpretation of a bill related to the business of the house.
Q 26 – What is defection? What are the provisions of the Anti-Defection law?
Ans. Defection is a major disease of the Indian party system which has caused other ills in the Indian system.
The tendency and practice of the political leaders to change their political party on the tidal of which they have been elected to a house in search of better political and material fortunes are called Defection. For a lap time efforts were going on to check this menace. It is only in 1985, Rajiv Gandhi government passed the 52nd amendment in the constitution to have a check on the tendency of defections. This Amendment is known as the Anit- Defection law which provides the following features.
- A person elected on a ticket of a particular party will lose his or her membership if he/she joins another party after the election.
- If a person is elected as independent or nominated may have free membership may lose his/her seat if he/she joins any political party.
- It is also provided that in case of merger and split which will require ’necessary majority, the membership will not be affected.
- Speaker or other presiding officers of the house will have final decisions on the issue of deciding the merger or split.
This law has been further modified in the 91st Constitutional amendment.
Q 27 – What impressions do you get on seeing the telecast of the proceeding of parliament.
Ans. On watching the proceedings of the parliament of TV we feel that it is truly a rainbow of colorful dresses symbolizing the different regions of the country. Members of different regions speak different languages and wear different dresses. It appears that the whole of India is sitting here debating and deciding on different issues in a definite manner.
The speaker (presiding officer) is seen on his toes in conducting and controlling the behavior of the members to maintain discipline and decorum of the house. Members raise their questions as per their turn and put pressure on the minister concerned in particular and on the government in general. Another sad part is that there is a constraint increase in the unruly scenes in the house. Members often behave in an unruly manner. Sometimes violence also occurs. Allegations and counter-allegations seem to be the order of the house. It sends the wrong message to the people. There is a need to change this part of ‘ Parliamentary working. Ultimately this house represents the virtues of the people, occupies the highest position of power and responsibility.
Q 28 – Should Rajya Sabha be scrapped?
Ans. Rajya Sabha is the upper house of Parliament. It is known as the permanent house as it is not subjected to dissolution. It is known as the council of the state as it is the representative of the interests of the Sates. Due to the weakness of the Rajya Sabha in the number of areas like legislative financial and executive, it is considered that Rajya Sabha is a useless and unnecessary house, therefore it should be scrapped. B.ut this demand or proposition does not carry any weight because of the following reasons.
- India has a federal system and every federal system of Government needs an upper house in Parliament (Legislature).
- Rajya Sabha has equal powers with Lok Sabha in a number of houses.
- Rajya Sabha has some special powers in many areas.
- It is the house of elders and experienced persons.
Q 29 – Write the legislative powers of the Indian President.
Ans. President is the essential organ of the Indian Parliament and has power over the legislative process. Some of their powers are as under:
- He Summons prorogues and dissolves the Parliament.
- A bill passed by the Parliament becomes law only when it is signed by the President.
- President can send any message to the Parliament.
- He nominates two members of the Anglo Indian Community to Lok Sabha (if they do not get an adequate representation in the election) and 12 members to Rajya Sabha.
- He can issue an ordinance if Parliament is not a session.
- He can ask for the joint session and headdress the joint sessions of the Parliament.
Q 30 – Discuss the powers and decline of the Indian Parliament.
Ans. We have supremacy of the Constitution. Indian Parliament is the product of the constitution. It is the most powerful institution. Due to the Parliamentary system of Government, the power and prestige of the Parliament are further increased. Parliament is the representative of the people. It performs deliberative functions and makes a public opinion by enlightening discussion and debate. Parliament is called the soul of the people.
Parliament exercises control on the executive by a number of methods which are as under
- Deliberations and discussion on the policies of the Government
- Approval on the refusal of Laws.
- Financial control on the executive
- No-confidence motion against the Government
The executive is responsible to Parliament for every omission and commission. They are accountable to the people through the Parliament. The government cannot make any expenditure without the approval of Parliament. Parliament can remove even the President, Vice President, and judges from their offices by means of impeachment. The executive is the order of declaration of Emergency cannot last long without the approval of the Indian Parliament within a specific period
Over the years the powers and prestige of Parliament are on the decline. The sitings of the Parliament are reduced. The atmosphere of the Parliament is polluted by ugly sums. Allegations and counter-allegations are exchanged. Due to the criminalization of politics, people of criminal backgrounds have entered Parliament. The commercialization of politics has also polluted the atmosphere of Parliament.
Due to frequent disturbances, a lot of valuable time of parliament is wasted for which people have to pay. The seriousness of the business of the house also is on the decline. There is no doubt that houses of the parliament have been plagued by the absence of a quorum, a boycott of sessions by members of opposition which deprive the house to control the executive through discussion.