RAJYA SABHA

INTRODUCTION
• Rajya Sabha is one of the most prominent
functioning bodies of Indian Parliament. Also known
as the Upper House of the nation, Rajya Sabha
along with Loksabha and the president of India
works collectively towards the smooth functioning
of the country. The Upper House consists of its own
set of rules which are followed by all the elected
members. In order to understand the functioning of
the Parliament of India , it is necessary to get a hold
of the functioning of this house of the parliament.
• Rajya Sabha or ‘Council of States’ is the upper
house of the Indian Parliament. The
Montague- Chelmsford Report 1918 Records
the establishment of RS for the first time in
the year 1921. After independence, RS was
convened for the first time in 1952.
• As per the 80th article of Indian constitution, the
maximum strength of Rajya Sabha is 250
members in which 238 members will be
representing the states whereas union territories
will be represented by 12 nominated members
by the president. Rajya Sabha is a permanent
body which is independent of dissolution. Out of
all the members, 1/3rd members retire after
every two years and are replaced by new
members.
• Out of the total seats in RS, Uttar Pradesh (31),
Maharashtra (19) and Tamil Nadu (18) have the
maximum number of seats in Rajya Sabha whereas
union territories like Delhi (3) and Pondicherry (1)
have the least number of seats. The term of each
member in RS is 6 years. The entire house together
elects the Deputy Chairman amongst all the members
whereas there is a special panel which works for the
selection of vice-chairman in RS. The Vice President
of India is known as the ex officio Chairman of RS.
Eligibility to Become a Member of Rajya Sabha
Eligibility to Become a Member of Rajya Sabha

• As Stated in the 84th article of the constitution, the

necessary details for becoming a member of RS are-
• The person must be a citizen of India And we can
subscribe before a person authorised in that behalf by
the election commission an oath or affirmation as per the
set format of the purpose in the third schedule to the
constitution.
• Candidate must not be less than 30 years of age.
• Candidate must possess such qualifications as described
in that behalf by or under the law made by the
parliament.
 How are Rajya Sabha Members Elected?

• All the Rajya Sabha members are elected by

the method of proportional representation
through the elected members of the state
legislative assemblies. Here candidates must
note that the representation of states in RS is
not equal. It mainly depends on the
population of the area.
 Elections in Rajya Sabha

• There are three types of representations through which

elections can be organised in Rajya Sabha. Let us understand
them one by one-
• Representation of states
• Representation of union Territories
• Representation of Nominated Members
 Representation of States

• The members of a particular state are elected

by the elected members of state legislative
assemblies
• Only the proportional representation by the
means of a single transferable vote is used
• To decide Rajya Sabha seats State-wise, the
population of the state is put into
consideration.
 Representation of Union Territories

• Those who belong to the union territories are

indirectly elected by the members of the
electoral college to get selected as a member
of Rajya Sabha
• Only the proportional representation by the
means of a single transferable vote is used
 Representation of Nominated Members

• The president of India nominates 12 members

of Rajya Sabha as per their influential
contribution in diverse fields. Popular fields
put into consideration are-
• Literature
• Science
• Social Science
• Art
 Powers of Rajya Sabha

• Being an important functioning body of the

Indian Parliament, RS possesses a bunch of
powers for its regulation such as financial
powers, executive powers, legislative powers
and so on.
 Legislative Powers

• Legislative powers of Rajya Sabha are given below-

• When it comes to ordinary law-making, RS enjoys
equal powers as Lok Sabha. an ordinary bill can be e
introduced in RS but it cannot become a law until it
is passed by the authority
• Whenever the members of Rajya Sabha are not
able to achieve a particular decision over a bill and it
remains pending for 6 months, then the president
will organise a joint sitting for both the houses so
that they can come to a conclusion.
• This sitting is led by the speaker of Lok Sabha.
If both the houses are able to come at a
conclusion during the drying sitting, then, the
bill is forwarded to the president for final
signatures but if they are unable to do so the
bill is declared to be killed.
 Executive Powers

• The executive powers of Rajya Sabha-

• Unlike Lok Sabha, RS can not cause the fall of
the Council of Ministers by granting a vote of
no confidence
• RS members can not remove the Council of
Ministers from their office but they can cross-
question their functioning. This can be done
by criticizing the policy made by them, asking
supplementary questions, etc.
 Financial Powers

• Here are the financial powers of Rajya Sabha-

• Rajya Sabha is not that powerful when it
comes to drafting decisions in terms of
financial bills. The Financial bill made in Lok
Sabha is only presented in RS for
consideration.
• Even if RS does not approve of the bill in a
period of 14 days, the bill is further promoted
to Parliament irrespective of Rajya Sabha
decision.
• On the other hand, if RS proposes some
changes in the bill; then, the bell goes back to
Lok Sabha and it is up to this authority that
they want to consider the amendments or
not.
 Can Rajya Sabha get Dissolved?

• The answer to this question will be no. RS is a

permanent body that is also known as a continuing
chamber which means that it cannot be dissolved. RS
has no specific term for tenure for its renewal. It is the
Lok Sabha that is renewed every five years through
fresh elections but Rajya Sabha continues to run
without any interruption. Thus, we can say that RS
never dissolves. Here students must know that every
second year, one-third of the members of Rajya Sabha
retires so that fresh members can join true elections.