Dear readers, As General Elections are round the corner, we are presenting you an article on Lok Sabha, which will provide you a detail knowledge about the Lok Sabha (The Lower House of Indian Parliament).
Parliament of India consists of two
houses: The Lok Sabha or House of the people and the Rajya Sabha (राज्य सà¤ा)) or Council of States.
The Lok Sabha (लोक सà¤ा) or House of the People is the lower
house of the Parliament of India. Lok
means "people" and Sabha means "assembly" in Sanskrit.
The maximum strength of the House
envisaged by the Constitution is 552,
which is made up by election of upto 530 members to represent the States, upto
20 members to represent the Union Territories and not more than two members of
the Anglo-Indian Community to be nominated by the Hon'ble President, if, in his/her opinion, that community is not
adequately represented in the House.
The total elective membership is
distributed among the States in such a way that the ratio between the number of
seats allotted to each State and the population of the State is, so far as
practicable, the same for all States.
Lok Sabha, unless sooner dissolved, continues for five years from the date
appointed for its first meeting and the expiration of the period of five
years operates as dissolution of the House.
However, while a declaration of
emergency is in operation, this period may be extended by Parliament by law for
a period not exceeding one year at a time and not extending, in any case,
beyond a period of six months after the proclamation has ceased to operate.
Background:
The Lok Sabha was duly constituted for
the first time on 17 April 1952 after the first General Elections held from 25
October 1951 to 21 February 1952.
The first Session of the First Lok
Sabha commenced on 13 May 1952. As many as 15 General Elections to the Lok
Sabha have been held till date. The Fifteenth General Elections was held from
16 April to 13 May 2009.
Qualifications
of a Member of Lok Sabha:
Article 84 Part V of Indian
Constitution sets qualifications for being a member of Lok Sabha, which are as
under:-
1. He/She is a citizen of India, and
makes and subscribes before some person authorized in that behalf by the
Election Commission of India an oath or affirmation according to the form set
out for the purpose in the Third Schedule of Indian Constitution.
2. He/She, in the case of a seat in the
House of the People, should not be less than twenty-five years of age; and
3. He/She possesses such other
qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament.
However, a member can be disqualified of being a member of Parliament:-
1.
if he/she holds
office of profit;
2.
if he/she is of
unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court
3. if he/she is an undischarged
insolvent;
4.
if he/she is not a
citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign
State, or is under any acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign
State;
5.
if he/she is
violating party discipline (as per Tenth schedule of the constitution);
6. disqualified under Representation of
People Act.
Furthermore, as per article 101 (Part
V.—The Union) of Indian Constitution:
A
person cannot be :-
(1) a member of both Houses of
Parliament and provision shall be made by Parliament by law for the vacation by
a person who is chosen a member of both Houses of his seat in one House or the
other.
(2) a member both of Parliament and of
a House of the Legislature of a State.
System
of elections to Lok Sabha:
For the purpose of holding direct
elections to Lok sabha each state is divided into territorial constituencies.
In this respect the constitution of India makes the following two provisions:
1. Each state is allotted a number of
seats in the Lok sabha in such a manner that the ratio between that number and
its population is same for all the states of India. This provision does not
apply for states having a population of less than 6 million (60 lakhs)
2. Each state is divided into territorial constituencies in such a manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it remain the same throughout the state
Powers:
1. Motions of no confidence against
the government can only be introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha. If passed by
a majority vote, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers resigns collectively.
The Rajya Sabha has no power over such a motion, and hence no real power over
the executive.
2.
Money bills can only
be introduced in the Lok Sabha, and upon being passed, are sent to the Rajya
Sabha, where it can be deliberated on for up to 14 days.
If not rejected by the Rajya Sabha, or
14 days lapse from the introduction of the bill in the Rajya Sabha without any
action by the House, or recommendations made by the Rajya Sabha are not
accepted by the Lok Sabha, the bill is considered passed.
The budget is presented in the Lok
Sabha by the Finance Minister in the name of the President of India.
3. Equal Powers with the Rajya Sabha in
initiating and passing any Bill for Constitutional Amendment (by a majority of
the total membership of the House and at least two-thirds majority of the
members present and voting).
4. Equal Powers with the Rajya Sabha in
initiating and passing a motion for the impeachment of the President (by
two-thirds of the membership of the House).
5. Equal Powers with the Rajya Sabha in
initiating and passing a resolution declaring war or national emergency (by
two-thirds majority) or constitutional emergency (by simple majority) in a
state.
6. If the Lok Sabha is dissolved before
or after the declaration of a National Emergency, the Rajya Sabha becomes the
sole Parliament. It cannot be dissolved. This is a limitation on the Lok Sabha.
But there is a possibility that president can exceed the term to not more than
1 year under the proclamation of emergency and the same would be lowered down
to six-month if the said proclamation ceases to operate.
Important
Points to be remember:
1. Shri G.V. Mavalankar was the first
Speaker of Lok Sabha (15 May 1952- 27 February 1956).
2. Shri M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar was
the first Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha (30 May 1952-7 March 1956).
3.
Smt. Meira Kumar is
the Present Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
4.
Shri Kariya Munda is
the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
5. Shri
Sushil Kumar Sambhajirao Shinde is the leader of the house in the
Fifteenth Lok Sabha.
6.
Smt. Sushma Swaraj is the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.
7. Shri T. K. Viswanathan is the Sec. –
General of the Lok Sabha.
8. In the Fifteenth Lok Sabha, two
members, i.e. Smt. Ingrid Mcleod and Shri Charles Dias are the nominated
members.
9. Shri Basudeb Acharia and Shri
Manikrao Hodlya Gavit are the longest serving members in the Lok Sabha.
10. Normally three Sessions of the Lok
Sabha are held in a year:
1. Budget
Session - February -
May
2. Autumn
or Monsoon Session - July
- August
3. Winter
Session - November - December
Lok Sabha also called the popular
Chamber: The Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people chosen by
direct election on the basis of adult suffrage.
That is why it is called the popular chamber.
Note:
1. The 16th general
election will be held in nine phases, the longest election in the
country's history, from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to constitute the16th Lok
Sabha in India.
2. Voting will take place in all 543 parliamentary constituencies of India to elect Members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha.
3. The result of
this election will be declared on 16 May 14, before the 15th Lok Sabha
completes its constitutional mandate on 31 May 2014.
4. According to the
Election Commission of India, the electoral strength in 2014 is 81.45
crores (814.5 million), the largest in the world.
5. This also will
be the longest and the costliest general election in the history of the
country with the Election Commission of India estimating that the
election will cost the exchequer Rs 3,500 crores, excluding the expenses
incurred for security and individual political parties.
