Indian Parliament Notes

Key Roles and Officials in Parliament

Whip

• Function: Party official responsible for ensuring party discipline within the legislature.
• Key Tasks:
  • Ensure fellow party legislators attend voting sessions.
  • Instruct party members how to vote according to official party policy.
• Basis: Based on parliamentary convention (not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution).
• Presence: Operates in both Lok Sabha (LS) and Rajya Sabha (RS).
• The colors in the original diagram represented different parties, which is a common visual aid but not detailed here.

Speaker of the Lok Sabha

• Source of Powers:
  1. Constitution of India
  2. Rules of Procedure & Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha
  3. Parliamentary Conventions
• Key Powers & Functions:
  • Presiding Officer: Conducts House proceedings, maintains order.
  • Interpreter: Final interpreter of the Constitution and Rules within the House.
  • Agenda Setting: Decides the agenda (chairs Business Advisory Committee).
  • Money Bill Certification: Decides definitively if a bill is a Money Bill.
  • Anti-Defection Law: Decides on disqualification under the Tenth Schedule.
    • Kihoto Hollohan Case (1992): Speaker's decision is subject to Judicial Review after the decision is made.
  • Joint Sitting: Presides over joint sittings of both Houses.
  • Suspension of MPs: Can suspend members.
  • Casting Vote: Votes only in case of a tie.
• Committee Chairmanship (Ex-officio): Business Advisory Committee, Rules Committee, General Purpose Committee.

Comparison of Speaker's Neutrality

Feature	United States (US)	Britain (UK)	India
Principle of Neutrality	No strict principle; Speaker remains active party member.	Practical Neutrality; Speaker resigns from party upon election.	Theoretical Neutrality; Speaker remains party member but expected to be impartial.
Party Membership	Remains member of a party.	Resigns from party.	Remains member of party.
Casting Vote	Can vote, but usually doesn't unless necessary. (Note: Original diagram differs slightly).	Has casting vote power.	Has casting vote power.

Controversies Connected to the Speaker

• Misuse of Power: Allegations of bias in decisions (e.g., suspension of MPs favoring the ruling party).
• Money Bill Certification: Controversial certification (e.g., Aadhar Bill), potentially bypassing RS scrutiny.
• Anti-Defection Law: Allegations of biased or delayed decisions.
• Decline in Debate: Concerns over diminishing quality and duration of parliamentary debate and scrutiny.

Chairman of the Rajya Sabha

• Occupant: The Vice President of India is the ex-officio Chairman.
• Functions: Similar presiding duties as the Speaker in LS.
• Key Differences from Speaker:
  • Cannot certify a bill as a Money Bill.
  • Cannot preside over a joint sitting of Parliament.
• Presiding Order for Joint Sitting (if Speaker absent):
  1. Deputy Speaker (LS)
  2. Deputy Chairman (RS)
  3. Any other member determined by the House as per rules

Leaders of Each House

Role	Leader of the House	Leader of the Opposition (LoP)
Affiliation	Belongs to the ruling party/coalition.	Leader of the largest opposition party.
Occupant	PM (if member of the House) or a minister nominated by PM. Exists in both Houses.	Leader of the opposition party meeting the 10% seat requirement (Mavalankar principle context).
Status	Manages government business in the House.	Statutory position (Act of 1977). Rank, salary equivalent to a Cabinet Minister.

Parliamentary Procedures

Rajya Sabha Member Election

Citizens elect MLAs (State Legislatures) ➔ MLAs elect Rajya Sabha MPs for their state.

• Method: Proportional Representation by means of Single Transferable Vote (STV).

Sessions of Parliament

• Constitutional Mandate: Gap between two sessions cannot exceed 6 months. Number of sessions not fixed.
• Convention (Typically 3 Sessions):
  • Budget Session (Longest, Jan/Feb - May)
  • Monsoon Session (July - Aug/Sep)
  • Winter Session (Shortest, Nov - Dec)
• Session names (Budget, Monsoon, Winter) are conventions, not mentioned in the Constitution.
• Summoning: The President summons each House to meet.

Parliamentary Questions

• Starred Question (*): Requires an oral answer. Supplementary questions can follow.
• Unstarred Question: Requires a written answer. Supplementary questions cannot follow.
• Short Notice Question: Asked on an urgent matter with less than 10 days' notice. Usually answered orally.

Ending Sittings and Sessions

• Adjournment: Suspension of a sitting for a specified time (hours/days). Done by the Presiding Officer (Speaker/Chairman).
• Adjournment Sine Die: Termination of a sitting for an indefinite period. Done by the Presiding Officer.
• Prorogation: Termination of a session of the House. Done by the President.
• Dissolution: Ends the life of the Lok Sabha only (RS is permanent). Done by the President. Leads to fresh elections.

Impact of Lok Sabha Dissolution on Pending Bills

Status of bills when the Lok Sabha is dissolved:

Case No.	Originating House	Status in Lok Sabha	Status in Rajya Sabha	President's Assent	Outcome on Dissolution
1	Lok Sabha	Introduced & Pending	-	-	LAPSES
2	Lok Sabha	Passed	Pending	-	LAPSES
3	Lok Sabha	Passed	Passed	Pending	DOES NOT LAPSE
4	Rajya Sabha	Not yet sent	Introduced & Pending	-	DOES NOT LAPSE
5	Rajya Sabha	Pending	Passed	-	LAPSES
6	Rajya Sabha	Passed	Passed	Pending	DOES NOT LAPSE
7	Either	Bill passed by both Houses with disagreement, or LS passed and sent to RS > 6 months ago. Joint Sitting Notified by President before dissolution.			DOES NOT LAPSE
*	Either	Bill passed by both Houses, sent to President, and returned by President for reconsideration.			DOES NOT LAPSE

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