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Polity > Parliament > Flashcards

Parliament Flashcards

1
Q

Parliament - Part and Articles

A

Part V
Articles 79 to 122
deal with org, composition, duration, officers, procedures, privileges, powers

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2
Q

Parliament consists of 3 parts

[Art 79 - Constitution of Parli]

A

President,
Council of States,
House of the People

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3
Q

1954, Hindi name ‘Rajya Sabha’ and ‘Lok Sabha’ adopted by Council of States and House of People

A

Rajya Sabha - Upper House (2nd Chamber / House of Elders)

Lok Sabha - Lower House (1st Chamber / Popular House)

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4
Q

‘Rajya Sabha’ and ‘Lok Sabha’ represents

A

RS -> States and UTs of Ind Union,

LS -> people of Ind as a whole.

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5
Q

Ind President integral part of Parliament

we have ‘President-in-Parli’ like ‘Crown-in-Parli’

A

relied on British pattern rather than US pattern.
not a mem and doesn’t sit in Parli to attend its meetings.
performs functions relating to Parli proceedings.

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6
Q

Parliamentary form of govt emphasises

A

interdependence b/w legislative and executive organs.

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7
Q

Presidential form of govt

A

separation of legislative and executive organs.

Hence, US prez is not a part of Congress.

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8
Q

Composition of Council of States (Art 80)

A 
Max 250,
238 - rep of States and UTs (elected indirectly)
12 - nominated by pre
At present, 245 members.
225 - states, 8 - UTs
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9
Q

Representation of States in RS

A

elected by elected mems of Legislative Assembly of State in accordance with sys of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

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10
Q

Seats allotted to states in RS on basis of

A

population.

Hence, no of reps varies from state to state.

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11
Q

Representation of Union Territories in RS

A

indirectly elected by mems of electoral college.

election held in accordance with sys of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

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12
Q

Out of 8 UTs, only 3 have representation in RS

A

Jammu Kashmir - 4
Delhi - 3
Puducherry - 1
populations of 5 UTs too small to have any rep.

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13
Q

Nominated Members in RS

A

12 - people having special knowledge or practical experience in “Art, Literature, Science and Social service”
rationale -> provide eminent persons a place without going thru election process.

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14
Q

Composition of Lok Sabha (Art 81)

A 
max 552.
530 - reps of states, 
20 - reps of UTs
2 - nominated by prez from Anglo-Ind community
At present, 545 members.  
13 - UTs
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15
Q

Representation of States in LS

A

directly elected by people from territorial constituencies in states.
election based on principle of universal adult franchise

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16
Q

Representation of Union Territories in LS

A

Parliament enacted UTs (Direct Election to House of People) Act, 1965.

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17
Q

Nominated Members -

Anglo-Ind reserved seats in Parli and State Legislatures abolished by

A

104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019

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18
Q

ELECTIONS TO LS - Territorial Constituencies
[Const ensures there is uniformity of rep in 2 respects: (a) b/w diff states,
b) b/w diff constituencies in same state]

A
  1. Each state is allotted seats such that ratio b/w that no of seats and population is same for all states. doesn’t apply to state with population of < 6 millions.
  2. Each state is divided into territorial constituencies such that ratio b/w population of each constituency and no of seats allotted to it is same throughout state.
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19
Q

Readjustment after each census made in (Art 82)

A

(a) allocation of seats in LS to states (1971 census),
(b) division of each state into territorial constituencies (2001 census).
Parli enacted Delimitation Commission Acts in 1952, 62, 72 and 2002 for this purpose.

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20
Q

Amendment Acts (42,84,87) -> Readjustment after each census

A

42nd (1976) -> froze readjustment after each census till 2000 @ 1971 level
84th (2001) -> govt to undertake readjustment of territorial constituencies in states on 1991 census
87th (2003) -> delimitation of constituencies on 2001 census. Refixing of reserved seats [SCs and STs].
Done without altering seats allotted to states in LS.

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21
Q

104th Amendment of Const of Ind, 2019

A

To extend reservation of seats for SCs and STs in LS and State assemblies (on basis of population ratios) from 70 to 80 yrs.

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22
Q

Constitution has adopted __ representation system in the houses.

A

RS - sys of proportional representation

LS - sys of territorial representation (First-past-the-post system)

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23
Q

2 kinds of proportional representation

A

single transferable vote sys and list sys.

Ind, 1st kind is adopted for election to RS, State legislative council, President and Vice-President

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24
Q

Duration of 2 Houses

A

Article 83

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25
Q

Duration of Rajya Sabha (1st constituted in 1952)

A

A permanent body and not subject to dissolution.

1/3rd of mems retire every 2nd yr.

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26
Q

Term of office of members of RS (Const hasn’t fixed)

A

Parliament in RPA (1951) provided 6 yrs.

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27
Q

Duration of Lok Sabha

A

not continuing chamber.
normal term is 5 yrs, after it automatically dissolves.
Prez dissolve LS @ any time and can’t be challenged in court.

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28
Q

LS Term can be extended during national emergency

A

by Parliament for 1 yr @ a time for any length.

extension can’t continue beyond 6 months after emergency ceased to operate.

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29
Q

Qualification for membership of Parliament (Art 84)

A

1.) Citizen of Ind
2.) Subscribe to oath/affirmation before person authorised by election comm.
3.) RS - 30 yrs of age (not less than)
LS - 25 yrs
4.) posses other qualifications prescribed by Parli

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30
Q

Disqualifications for membership (Art 102)

A
  1. Holds any office of profit under Union / state govt (except that of minister or office exempted by Parli)
  2. Unsound mind and so declared by court.
  3. Undischarged insolvent.
  4. Not a citizen or voluntarily acquired citizenship of foreign state or under acknowledgement of allegiance to foreign state
  5. disqualified under law made by Parli
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31
Q

Disqualification on Ground of Defection under 10th Schedule

A
  1. Voluntarily gives up party membership on whose ticket he is elected
  2. Votes or abstains from voting in House contrary to direction given by party
  3. Independently elected mem joins any party
  4. Nominated mem joins any party after 6 months
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32
Q

disqualification under 10th Schedule decided by

A

Chairman and Speaker (not by prez).

1992, SC ruled that decision of Chairman/Speaker is subject to judicial review.

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33
Q

Decision on questions as to disqualifications of members (Art 103)

A

President’s decision is final.

He should obtain opinion of election comm and act.

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34
Q

Vacation of seats

A

(Art 101)

35
Q

Double Membership - can’t be mem of both Houses @ same time

A

RPA (1951) provides:
(a) If a person is elected to both Houses, he must intimate in 10 days in which House he desires to serve. In default, his RS seat becomes vacant
(b) If sitting mem of 1 House is also elected to other House, his seat in 1st House becomes vacant.
(c) If a person is elected to 2 seats in a House, should exercise his option. Otherwise, both seats become vacant.
A person can’t be mem of both Parli and state legislature @ same time. If so elected, his seat in Parli becomes vacant if he doesn’t resign from state legislature in 14 days.

36
Q

Resignation

A

by writing to Chairman / Speaker.

mayn’t accept if satisfied it isn’t voluntary or genuine.

37
Q

Absence

A

House declare a seat vacant if absent for 60 days without permission.

38
Q

Oath or affirmation (Art 99)

A

Every mem before taking his seat, make and subscribe to oath before Prez, or person appointed by him.
He swears:
1. to bear true faith and allegiance to Const of Ind;
2. to uphold sovereignty and integrity of Ind;
3. to faithfully discharge duty upon which he is abt to enter.

39
Q

Salaries and Allowances (Art 106)

A

determined by Parliament -> 1954, Salaries, Allowances and Pension of Mems of Parliament Act.
[salary ₹1,00,000 per month, constituency allowance ₹70,000 pm, office expenses allowance ₹60,000 pm, daily allowance ₹2,000 for residence on duty]
From 1976, also entitled to pension.
Besides travel facilities, accommodation, telephone, vehicle advance and medical facilities.

40
Q

PRESIDING OFFICERS OF PARLIAMENT

A

LS - Speaker, Deputy Speaker and panel of chairpersons.

RS - Chairman, Deputy Chairman and panel of vice-chairpersons.

41
Q

LS Speaker and Deputy Speaker (Art 93) - Election and Tenure

A

elected by LS from amg mems. Election date fixed by Prez / Speaker.
When vacant, LS elects another mem.
remains in office usually during life of LS.

42
Q

Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, office of Speaker and Deputy Speaker (Art 94)

A
  1. Ceases to be mem of LS;
  2. Resigns by writing, Speaker to Deputy Speaker and
    Deputy Speaker to Speaker
  3. Removed by resolution passed by ‘majority of all then mems of LS’ (special majority) -> resolution be moved after giving 14 days notice.
    when LS dissolved, Speaker doesn’t vacate and continues till newly-elected LS meets.
43
Q

Speaker / Deputy Speaker not to preside while his removal resolution is under consideration. (Art 96)

A

he can speak and take part in proceedings and vote, not a casting vote.

44
Q

Role, Powers and Functions of Speaker

A

decision in all Parli matters is final.
derives powers and duties from 3 sources,
(final interpreter within House)
1) Constitution
2) Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of LS
3) Parli Conventions/precedents (residuary powers unwritten in Rules)

45
Q

Speaker ex-officio chairman of

A

1) Indian Parliamentary Group - link b/w Ind Parli and world parliaments.
2) Conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies in Ind.

46
Q

Speaker appoints chairman of all parli committees and he is chairman of

A

Business Advisory Committee
Rules Committee
General Purpose Committee

47
Q

Salaries and allowances of Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Speaker, Deputy Speaker -> “Officers of Parliament” (Art 97)

A

determined by Parliament -> 1953, Salaries and Allowances of “Officers of Parliament Act”
charged on Consolidated Fund thus not subject to annual vote of Parli.
Each (other than RS Chairman) receive salary and allowance @ par with MPs.
sumptuary allowance paid.

48
Q

Power of Deputy Speaker or other person to perform duties of office of, or to act as, Speaker (Art 95)

A

when vacant and absent
vacant -> by mem as Prez may appoint for d purpose.
absent -> person determined by House

49
Q

Deputy Speaker - privilege

A

when appointed as mem of parliamentary committee, automatically becomes its chairman.
not subordinate to Speaker. directly responsible to LS.
when Speaker presides, Deputy is like ordinary mem.

50
Q

institutions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker originated in Ind in 1921

A

under provisions of GoI Act of 1919 (Montague-Chelmsford Reforms).
Speaker and Deputy called President and Deputy President and nomenclature continued till 1947.

51
Q

1st Speaker and 1st Deputy Speaker of central legislative assembly in 1921

A

Frederick Whyte and Sachidanand Sinha

appointed by Governor-General of India

52
Q

1st Ind and 1st elected Speaker of central legislative

assembly in 1925

A

Vithalbhai J. Patel

53
Q

1st Speaker and 1st Deputy Speaker of LS

A

G.V.Mavalankar (1946-56) -> also Speaker in Constituent Assembly (Legislative) + provisional Parli.
Ananthasayanam Ayyangar

54
Q

Panel of Chairpersons of Lok Sabha

A

LS Rules -> Speaker nominates from mems a panel of not more than 10 chairpersons. Any of them can preside over House in ‘absence’ of Speaker / Deputy

55
Q

Speaker Pro Tem, a temp office

A

Prez appoints and administers oath. Usually,
senior most mem is selected.
presides over 1st sitting of newly-elected LS.
duty :- administer oath to new mems. enables House to elect new Speaker.

56
Q

Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha (Art 89)

A

Vice-president - ex-officio Chairman of RS. salary of ₹4 lakh pm.
Deputy Chairman - elected by RS from amg its mems. When Deputy falls vacant, RS elects another mem.

57
Q

Chairman of RS can be removed from his office

A

only if he is removed from office of Vice-President.

58
Q

Speaker’s 2 special powers which r not enjoyed by Chairman

A
  1. Speaker decides whether a bill is money bill or not
    and his decision is final.
  2. Speaker presides over joint sitting of Parli.
59
Q

Chairman or Deputy Chairman not to preside while a

removal resolution is under consideration. (Art 92)

A

he can speak and take part in proceedings, without voting. (while Speaker can vote in 1st instance when removal resolution is under consideration)

60
Q

Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, office of Deputy Chairman. (Art 90)

A
  1. ceases to be mem of RS
  2. resigns by writing to Chairman
  3. removed by resolution passed by ‘majority of all
    then members of RS’ -> resolution be moved after giving 14 days notice.
61
Q

Power of Deputy Chairman or other person to perform duties of office of, or to act as, Chairman (Art 91)

A

when vacant or when Vice-Prez acts as or discharges functions of Prez and when absent
vacant -> by mem as Prez may appoint for d purpose.
absent -> person determined by House

62
Q

Deputy Chairman

A

not subordinate to Chairman. direct responsible to RS.

When Chairman presides, Deputy is like ordinary mem.

63
Q

Panel of Vice-Chairpersons of RS

A

RS Rules -> Chairman nominates from mems a panel of vice-chairpersons. Any of them can preside over House in ‘absence’ of Chairman / Deputy.

64
Q

Secretariat of Parliament (Art 98)

A

Each House has separate secretarial staff, though there can be common posts.
recruitment and service conditions regulated by Parli.
secretariat headed by secretary-general -> permanent officer and appointed by presiding officer

65
Q

LEADERS IN PARLI - Leader of House

not mentioned in Constitution, mentioned in Rules of House and Parliamentary Statute

A

Rules of LS - it means prime minister, if he is LS mem, or minister who is LS mem and nominated by PM.
RS - minister and RS mem and nominated by PM.
He can nominate deputy leader of House.

66
Q

Leader of Opposition - leader of largest Opposition party having not less than one-tenth seats of House strength

A

accorded statutory recognition in 1977.
enjoys status of a cabinet minister and paid by govt.
functions - constructive criticism of govt policies and to
provide alternative govt.
Ivor Jennings described as ‘alternative PM’

67
Q

Whip - every party, has its own whip.
(mentioned neither in Constitution nor in Rules of
House nor in Parliamentary Statute)

A

based on conventions of parli govt.
appointed by party to serve as assistant floor leader.
responsibility - ensure attendance of party mems and securing support in favour or agst particular issue.
monitors their behaviour in Parli. mems to follow directives given by whip. Otherwise, disciplinary action be taken.

68
Q

SESSIONS OF PARLIAMENT - Summoning

A

Prez summons.
Max gap b/w 2 sessions can’t be more than 6 months..
i.e., Parli should meet at least twice a yr.

69
Q

Parli 3 sessions in a yr

A
  1. Budget Session (Feb to May);
  2. Monsoon Session (Jul to Sep);
  3. Winter Session (Nov to Dec).
70
Q

Each meeting of a day consists of 2 sittings

A

morning sitting from 11 am to 1 pm

post-lunch sitting from 2 to 6 pm

71
Q

A sitting of Parliament can be terminated by

A

adjournment
adjournment sine die
prorogation
dissolution (in case of LS)

72
Q

Adjournment

A

suspends work in a sitting for a specified time, may be hours, days or weeks.

73
Q

Adjournment Sine Die
(power of adjournment + adjournment sine die
lies with presiding officer)

A

terminating a sitting for indefinite period i.e., when House is adjourned without naming a day for reassembly

74
Q

Prorogation

A

presiding officer declares House adjourned sine die, when business of session is completed.
‘Prez’ then issues notification for prorogation. also prorogue while in session.

75
Q

Dissolution (irrevocable)

A

RS, permanent House, not subject to dissolution.
Only LS is subject to dissolution.
ends life of existing House, and new House is constituted after general elections.

76
Q

dissolution of LS may take place in 2 ways

A
  1. Automatic dissolution i.e., on expiry of 5 yrs tenure or terms as extended during nat’l emergency
  2. When Prez decides to dissolve House.
77
Q

When LS is dissolved, position w.r.to lapsing of bills

keyword :- prez

A
  1. bill pending in LS lapses (whether originating in LS or transmitted to it by RS)
  2. bill passed by LS but pending in RS lapses
  3. bill not passed by Houses due to disagreement and if prez has notified joint sitting before LS dissolution, doesn’t lapse
  4. bill pending in RS but not passed by LS doesn’t lapse
  5. bill passed by Houses but pending assent of prez doesn’t lapse
  6. bill passed by Houses but returned by prez for reconsideration doesn’t lapse
78
Q

Quorum (Art 100) - minimum mems to be present in House before it can transact business.

A

one-tenth of total mems in House incl presiding officer.
at least 55 in LS and 25 in RS
If no quorum, presiding officer’s duty either to adjourn House or to suspend meeting until there is a quorum.

79
Q

Voting in Houses, power of Houses to act notwithstanding vacancies and quorum (Art 100)

A

All matters @ any sitting of either House or joint sitting decided by majority of votes of members present and voting, excluding presiding officer.
proceedings of House valid irrespective of any unauthorized voting or participation or mem vacancy.

80
Q

Officers of Parli - exercise casting vote in case of a tie (equality of votes)

A

doesn’t vote in 1st instance.
casting vote -> only when House is divided equally on any Q, he is entitled to vote.
purpose is to resolve deadlock.

81
Q

Language in Parliament

A

Const declare Hindi and English for transacting business.
presiding officer can permit mem to address House in
his mother-tongue. arrangements are made for simultaneous translation.

82
Q

English be discontinued as floor language after 15 yrs from commencement of Const (in 1965)

A

Official Languages Act (1963) allowed English be continued with Hindi.

83
Q

Rights of Ministers and Attorney General

A

right to speak and take part in proceedings of either House, joint sitting and any committee of Parli of which he is a member, without being entitled to vote.

84
Q

Lame-duck Session

A

last session of existing LS, after new LS been elected.

lame-ducks -> Mems of existing LS who couldn’t get re-elected to new LS

Polity (1 decks)

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