House of Intellectuals. Review on Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha is also called as house of intellectuals

It is permanent house ie the house is never dissolved.

Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution. One-third of its Members, however, retire every second year. The term of a Member is 6 years.

The total number of members are 245.

out of these 245, 233 are elected and the rest of 12 members are nominated

233 Members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the Assemblies of States in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable Vote. Representatives of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Pondicherry are elected by the elected members of the Assemblies of those territories

12 Members who have special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service are nominated by the Parliament of India

The Chairman: Shri Krishan Kant The Vice-President of India, who is elected by Members of the both Houses of Parliament, is ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha

Deputy Chairman: Dr.Najma Heptulla

Elected by the Members of the Rajya Sabha from amongst its Members.

Panel of Vice-Chairmen :

6 Members are nominated by the Chairman from time to time who preside over the sittings of the House in the absence of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman.

Leader of the House: Shri Jaswant Singh Nominated by the Prime Minister.

Leader of the Opposition :-Dr. Manmohan Singh

(Member of the Rajya Sabha who is the Leader in the Rajya Sabha of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength and recognised as such by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha)

Secretary-General : Shri R. C. Tripathi Apointed by the Chairman.

Three Sessions in a year-

(1)Budget Session-February-May

(2)Monsoon Session-July-August

(3)Winter Session-November-December

Special powers of Rajya saba

(i)To empower Parliament to make laws in respect of any matter enumerated in the Sate List in the national interest by adopting a resolution to this effect (Article 249).

(ii)Creation of All India Services (Article 312).

(iii) Rajya Sabha approves Proclamations (issued under Article 352 or Article 356 or Article 360) if the Lok Sabha stands dissolved or the dissolution of the Lok Sabha takes place within the period allowed for the approval of the Proclamation

Legislative relation between the two houses

No Bill becomes a law without the concurrence of the Rajya Sabha. In legislative matters, the Rajya Sabha enjoys equal powers with thst of the Lok Sabha, except in the case of Money Bills.

In the case of Bills (other than Money Bills and the Constitution Amendment Bills), a disagreement between the two Houses may arise when-

(1) a Bill passed by one House is rejected by the other House; or

(2) the Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the Bill; or

(3) more than six months lapse from the date of the reception of the Bill by the other House without the Bill being passed by it.

The President may convene a joint sitting of the House for the purpose of deliberating and voting on the Bill. In the case of Money Bills, there is no question of a deadlock as the Rajya Sabha has a limited say in such matters. Both the Houses posses equal powers with regard to a Constitution Amendment Bill. A passed by each House of Parliament separately by a majority of the total membership of the House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the Members of that House present and voting. There is no provision for a joint sitting with regard to a Constitution Amendment Bill, if a deadlock were to arise between the two Houses.

Party Positions in Raya Sabha

Party Name No. of Seats

Cong. (I)-62

B.J.P.-43

C.P.I.(M).-16

Telugu Desam-10

Janata Dal-9

D.M.K.-9

Rashtriya Janata Dal-7

samajwadi Party-6

C.P.I.-7

A.I.A.D.M.K-5

Shiv Sena-5

Shiromani Akali Dal-5

Bahujan Samaj Party-4

Biju Janata Dal-3

Tamil Manila Congress (Moopanar)-3

J & K National Conference-2

Muslim League-2

Forward Bloc-2

Asom Gana Parishad-2

Sikkim Sangram parishad-1

Autonomous State Demand Committee-1

Revolutionary Socialist Party-1 Himachal Vikas Congress-1

Kerala Congress-1

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-1

Indian National Lok Dal-1

Haryana Vikas Party-1

Independents-15

Nominated-12

TOTAL-245

Regards

Dev