Truth Alone Triumphs. Review on Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha is also called the Council of States. It consists of not more than 238 elected representatives of States and Union Territories and 12 members nominated by the President of India. The Council of States is never subject to dissolution, but, as nearly as possible, one-third of its members retire as soon as may be, after the expiry of two years. Elections to the Rajya Sabha are always indirect.

The Indian Constitution, though federal in character, provides only single citizenship to the people of india. Citizenship rights, according to the Citizenship Act, 1955, are acquired by birth, i.e., born on or after 26 January 1950; by descent, i.e., either of whose parents was born in India, even if the person is born outside India on or before 26 January 1950; by registration, i.e., who have been residing in India for 5 years, can acquire it by registering before the prescribed authority; by naturalisation, i.e., a foreigner can apply to the Government of India for naturalisation, and by incorporation of territory, i.e., when new territories become part of the country, the Government of India shall specify the citizenship of people living there.

All the sessions in the Rajya Sabha are presided by the Vice-President of India. The presiding officer is called the Chairman. The current Vice-Chairman is Ms. Nazma Heptulla. On special occasions, the President of India addresses the joint sessions of Parliament.

Orissa has sent some very able persons to the Rajya Sabha.. They are: Justice Ranganath Misra, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, Professor Manmath Nath Das, Educationist and Historian and Smt. Ila Panda, Industrialist.

It is beyond the scope of a brief Review like this to describe and explain all the features of the Indian Constitution. The spirit of our Constitution is reflected in our motto: Satyameva Jayata or Truth Alone Triumphs. This was the Mantra of Mahatma Gandhi.