Relevance: GS-2: Parliament and State Legislatures—Structure, Functioning, Conduct of Business, Powers & Privileges and Issues Arising out of these.

Key Phrases: Council of States, Montague-Chelmsford report of 1918, All-India services, Article 312, Article 249, Approve proclamations, Article 352 or 356 or 360, Representation of states, Stalling legislation, Undemocratic aspects, Relevance of Rajya Sabha.

Why in News?

• Manoj Kumar Jha writes: The deliberative and reflective function of Rajya Sabha is most valuable, as it meticulously analyses merits and demerits of a Bill. It also empowers its members to voice resistance, dissent, or disagreement.

Background of Council of States (Rajya Sabha):

• Known as the federal or second chamber of Parliament, the genesis of the Rajya Sabha can be traced to the Montague-Chelmsford report of 1918.
• Consequently, the Government of India Act, 1919, which provided for a second federal chamber or the “Council of States”.
• The Governor-General was the ex-officio President of the then Council of State.
• The relevance of the Rajya Sabha was debated in the Constituent Assembly on July 28, 1947.
• During this debate, a few members did indeed oppose the creation of the “Upper House”.
• They argued that such a House, over and above the Lok Sabha, would unnecessarily delay law-making.
• Ultimately, it was decided to have a bicameral legislature for independent India mainly because a federal system was considered to be most feasible form of Government for such a vast country with immense diversities.
• A second chamber known as the ‘Council of States’, therefore, was created with altogether different composition and method of election from that of the directly elected ‘House of the People’.

Why the Rajya Sabha Matters?

• The role and importance of the Rajya Sabha lie not only in the consideration of representation but also in the quality of deliberation.
• Merit deliberation, discussion, and debate are the most critical functions of the Upper House or the Rajya Sabha.
• Rajya Sabha ensures healthy bicameralism by providing some kind of accountability to the law-making process undertaken in the Lok Sabha.
• The process of indirect elections also makes its way to the Indian parliamentary system as the members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the members of the state legislative assemblies based on proportional representation.
• It acts as a conduit between the states, people, and Parliament, furthering the principles of decentralisation by lending an independent voice to the states.
• The deliberative and reflective function of the Rajya Sabha is the most valuable, as it meticulously analyses the merits and demerits of a Bill so discussed.
• Women, religious, ethnic, and linguistic minority groups are not adequately represented in the Lok Sabha (due to the first past the post-election system). Rajya Sabha acts as a solution to this.
• It also empowers its members to voice resistance, dissent, or any disagreement, even if the Lok Sabha dominates as the primary stakeholder in the law-making process.
• Rajya Sabha has also provided its members opportunities to introduce the Private Member Bills, which despite being important could not come up on the agenda of the government.
  • For instance the bill on transgender rights was initially introduced and passed by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha in 2014.

Special Powers of Rajya Sabha:

It is important to remember, however, the special powers the Rajya Sabha has over and above the Lok Sabha. Like

• Exercises the ability to create new All-India:
  • Rajya Sabha exercises the ability to create new All-India Services under Article 312 by passing a resolution subject to support and voting by two-thirds of members.
• Exercises power to make laws on any subject:
  • Rajya Sabha exercises power to make laws on any subject included in the State List toward “national importance” under Article 249.
• Approve proclamations:
  • It can approve proclamations under Article 352 or 356 or 360 if the Lok Sabha stands dissolved.

Arguments Against Rajya Sabha:

The naysayers also often argue that the Rajya Sabha exercises limited powers in legislative procedures. Like

• Money Bills:
  • The Lok Sabha has the power to introduce Money Bills and also exercises the final say over these bills.
  • The Rajya Sabha has no power to reject or amend a Money Bill.
  • In many cases, ordinary bills are being passed in the form of a Money Bill, circumventing the Rajya Sabha and giving rise to the question about the very efficacy of the upper house of Parliament.
• Representation of states:
  • Unlike several other countries which provide equal representation to all the States in the Upper House.
  • In the Rajya Sabha, States have unequal representation as they are represented in proportion to their population. For ex. Uttar Pradesh alone is significantly higher than that of combined north-eastern states.
  • Federal countries like US, Australia, institutionalise the principle of federalism more strongly than India, by providing equal representation to all states in their upper houses.
• Stalling legislation:
  • Many consider it as “clog in the wheel of progress” of the nation since it consumes time in the legislative process, which further results in delay in enactment of law. Many instances over the years have also proved it to be right.
• Undemocratic aspects:
  • As argued in the Constituent Assembly the twelve nominated members never seek the vote of the people, yet they are eligible to become ministers. This is one of the most undemocratic aspects of our Constitution.
• Doing away with domicile requirement:
  • The earlier practice of individuals mostly entering the Rajya Sabha on domicile credentials ended in 2003 after an amendment in Section 3(1) of the Representation of People’s Act 1952 and the subsequent judgment of Supreme Court.
• Failure to protect the interests of the States:
  • One of the primary responsibilities of a Council of States is to protect the interests of the State vis a vis the Union but there is hardly any empirical evidence that substantiates that the Rajya Sabha has measured up to the task ever since it came into existence on April 3rd, 1952

Way Forward:

• Rajya Sabha has played a constructive role in deliberations in the parliament, apart from hosting various important personalities including the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister several times.
• It has played an impressive role in holding the government accountable for its promises.
• It has been long argued that matters related to finance, fiscal federalism, and economic reforms must also be brought under the purview of the Rajya Sabha.
• This will further help articulate states’ concerns and strengthen the premise of cooperative and competitive federalism, endorsed by the present dispensation.
• The Rajya Sabha must not be used by political parties to accommodate candidates who fail to win mass elections.
• Instead, parties should select their candidates with the specific role of the Upper House in mind. The provision of nomination of eminent persons from fields like the arts and sports is also a testament to the original intention of expanding horizons beyond electoral calculations.
• There is a need for a better procedure of nomination to improve the quality of discussion in the House. For Ex.
  • The House of Lords Act, 1999 of UK.
    • It ended hereditary Peers' right to pass membership down through family, and introduced the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
    • House of Lords Appointments Commission setup in May 2000, this independent, public body recommends individuals for appointment as non-party-political life peers and vets nominations for life peers to ensure the highest standards of propriety.
• The rights of the Indian citizens need to be actively protected. Hence, the relevance of the bicameral parliament structure becomes even bigger.
• The ‘Rajya Sabha’, the bureaucracy, and the judiciary act as the 3-layered wall that sees to the upkeep of the principles of a democratic republic like India.

Source: Indian Express

Mains Question:

Q. “The deliberative and reflective function of Rajya Sabha is most valuable, as it meticulously analyses merits and demerits of a Bill”. Elaborate.