NCERT
Every NCERT book that matters for UPSC — open a book, then a chapter. Learn each chapter's concepts, then how UPSC tests them — with diagrams, flowcharts and the past questions to attempt.
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← Indian Constitution at Work — all chaptersLegislature
Start here: why this chapter matters
In simple wordsIf the executive is the driver, Parliament is the passengers' committee that chose the driver, checks the route, holds the fuel money and can change the driver. Its loud arguments are how the passengers keep control.
Chapter 3 showed how the Lok Sabha is elected and Chapter 4 how a majority in it creates a government. This chapter shows what the elected House does afterwards — and how its second chamber, its law-making procedure, its control instruments, its committees and its own rules work.
- Builds on Chapter 3 (FPTP, STV for the Rajya Sabha) and Chapter 4 (collective responsibility, President's assent, ordinances).
- Leads to Chapter 6 (removal of judges), Chapter 7 (Rajya Sabha and State-List powers, Legislative Councils) and Chapter 9 (amendment by special majority).
- UPSC: GS2 ‘Parliament and State legislatures — structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers and privileges’ — among the most-asked Prelims areas (money bills, joint sittings, Speaker, committees, motions, anti-defection) and a regular Mains theme.
| Word | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Bicameral | A legislature with two Houses |
| Money bill | A bill only on taxes, borrowing, the Consolidated Fund and similar matters (Article 110, Beyond NCERT) |
| Government / private member's bill | Introduced by a minister / by any other member |
| Joint sitting | Both Houses meeting together to resolve a deadlock |
| Question Hour | Time when ministers must answer members' questions |
| Zero Hour | Time when members raise urgent matters; ministers need not reply |
| Adjournment motion | Setting aside normal business to discuss an urgent public matter |
| No-confidence motion | Motion that, if passed in the Lok Sabha, forces the government out |
| Parliamentary privilege | Members' freedom of speech and immunity for what they say in the House |
| Standing committee | A permanent committee, e.g. for each group of ministries |
| JPC | Joint Parliamentary Committee of both Houses, for one bill or inquiry |
| Defection | Leaving or defying the party one was elected from |
Reading the chapter opening (page 100)No picture — five aims: importance of the legislature, functions and powers of Parliament, law-making procedure, control of the executive, and how Parliament regulates itself.
At a glance — the six ideas to carry away
- Parliament: law-making, control of the executive, finance, representation, debate, constituent, electoral and judicial functions.
- Bicameral: Lok Sabha (543 directly elected, 5 years, dissolvable) and Rajya Sabha (indirect, by MLAs; 6-year terms, one-third every 2 years; never dissolved; 12 nominated).
- Rajya Sabha seats by population (Fourth Schedule): UP 31, Sikkim 1 — unlike the USA's equal Senate. Six States have Legislative Councils.
- Money bill: only in Lok Sabha; Rajya Sabha recommends within 14 days. Joint sitting resolves deadlocks on ordinary bills. Rajya Sabha can't remove the government.
- Control of executive: privilege, Question Hour, Zero Hour, adjournment motion, approval of laws, budget, no-confidence motion; committees as ‘miniature legislatures’.
- Anti-defection: 52nd Amendment (1985), modified by the 91st; presiding officer decides; strengthened party leaders.
1. Why do we need a Parliament?
In simple wordsA government that never has to explain itself in public soon stops listening. Parliament is the place where it must explain — daily, in front of the whole country.
Law-making is only one of the legislature's functions. It is the centre of the democratic process — walkouts, protests, unanimity, co-operation — and the means by which people hold representatives accountable. In most democracies legislatures are losing ground to the executive; in India the Cabinet initiates policies and sets the agenda, so critics speak of Parliament's decline. Yet even a strong cabinet must keep its majority and answer to Parliament; Parliament is the most open forum of debate, the most representative organ, and above all it can choose and dismiss the government.
Reading the Activity: newspaper reports (pages 101–102)
- 28 Feb 2002: the budget raised the price of a 50 kg bag of urea by ₹12 (urea then carried an 80% subsidy). 11 March 2002: the Finance Minister rolled back the increases under intense opposition pressure.
- 4 June 1998: angry scenes and an opposition walkout over urea and petroleum price hikes forced a rollback of a 50-paise-per-kg urea increase.
- 22 Feb 1983: the Lok Sabha unanimously suspended business to debate violence in Assam; the Home Minister appealed for a ‘healing touch’.
- 3 March 1985: ruling-party members protested against atrocities on Dalits in Andhra Pradesh.
2. Two Houses: Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha
In simple wordsBefore a big family decision, the parents decide and then grandparents look it over. A second House is the grandparents: slower, more experienced, and able to say ‘think again’.
‘Parliament’ is the national legislature; States have State legislatures. India's Parliament is bicameral: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). States may choose one or two Houses; NCERT lists six with a Legislative Council — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Large, diverse countries prefer two Houses to represent all sections and regions, and a second House lets every decision be reconsidered — a double check against haste.
Reading the map ‘India Political’ and Purnima Banerji's quotation (pages 103–104)
- A full-page political map of India with States and capitals, under which NCERT lists the six States with bicameral legislatures. Locate them: four in the south and west (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra) and two in the Hindi heartland (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh).
- From the Constituent Assembly (30 July 1949): an Upper House can be a useful revising body whose views count though its votes may not, and a place where people unsuited to the ‘rough and tumble’ of active politics can advise the Lower House.
Rajya Sabha represents the States and is indirectly elected: voters elect MLAs, and MLAs elect Rajya Sabha members. A second chamber can give regions equal (symmetrical) representation, as the US Senate does, or representation by population. India's seats are fixed by the Fourth Schedule roughly by population: Uttar Pradesh sends 31 members, Sikkim one. Members serve six years and may be re-elected; one-third retire every two years, so the House is never dissolved — the ‘permanent House’ that can meet even when the Lok Sabha is dissolved. The President nominates twelve members from literature, science, art and social service.
Reading the box ‘Bicameralism in Germany’ (page 105)Germany's Bundestag is elected for four years by a system combining direct and proportional representation. The Bundesrat represents the 16 states with 69 seats allotted by population bands; its members are usually state ministers, appointed by state governments, and each state's members must vote as a bloc on its government's instructions (abstaining if a state coalition cannot agree). It must pass, and can veto, laws in areas where the states share powers. The contrast: India's Rajya Sabha members are elected by MLAs and vote as individuals — usually by party, as NCERT notes.
Lok Sabha (and State Assemblies) are directly elected from territorial constituencies of roughly equal population, by universal adult suffrage with equal votes. There are 543 constituencies, unchanged since the 1971 census. Its term is five years at most; it can be dissolved earlier if no one can form a government or the Prime Minister advises dissolution.
Reading the side cartoon, the Activity and ‘Check your progress’ (pages 106–107)
- A boy asks why sportspersons, artists and scientists are nominated: whom do they represent, and do they contribute? They represent expertise rather than a constituency; their contribution varies — many rarely speak.
- The Activity: chart each State's Rajya Sabha seats against its 2011 population — you will see representation rises with population but small States are over-represented per head.
- Check your progress: has the Rajya Sabha protected the States? Should it be directly elected? Should Lok Sabha seats rise after the 1971 freeze? Answers in the in-text section.
Beyond NCERT — numbers and Articles
- Article 79: Parliament = President + Rajya Sabha + Lok Sabha (UPSC 1980, 2012). Article 80: Rajya Sabha up to 250 (238 representatives of States and UTs + 12 nominated); Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir, as Union Territories, also send members (UPSC 1991, 2012). Article 81: Lok Sabha up to 550 elected members.
- Seats per State are frozen on the 1971 census (UPSC 1988) until the first census after 2026. Two Anglo-Indian members were once nominated to the Lok Sabha (UPSC 1988); the 104th Amendment (2019) ended this from 2020.
- Article 83: the Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution (UPSC 1981); the Lok Sabha's term can be extended by law one year at a time during a national emergency (UPSC 2002), and it can be dissolved before five years (UPSC 1984).
- Article 85: no more than six months between sessions (UPSC 1980); the Constitution prescribes no number of sessions or minimum sitting days, and the President may summon a House to meet wherever he thinks fit (UPSC 2020).
- The Vice-President, ex-officio Chairman, is not a member of the Rajya Sabha — a non-member presides there (UPSC 1983). A nominated member may become a minister (UPSC 2003).
- Legislative Councils (Article 169): created or abolished by Parliament on the Assembly's resolution; size not more than one-third of the Assembly (UPSC 2015); no joint-sitting provision with the Assembly (UPSC 1992). West Bengal abolished its Council in 1969 (UPSC 1979).
3. What Parliament does, and the powers of each House
In simple wordsIn a housing society, the general body passes rules, approves the annual budget, questions the secretary and can vote him out. Parliament does all that for the country — plus it amends the rulebook and chooses the President.
- Legislative: enacts laws — though bills are drafted by the bureaucracy under ministers and no major bill comes without Cabinet approval; private members' bills rarely pass without government support.
- Control of the executive: perhaps the most vital — keeping the executive within its authority and responsible to the people.
- Financial: no new tax without Lok Sabha approval; grants money for programmes and checks against misspending through the budget and annual financial statements.
- Representation of divergent regional, social, economic and religious views.
- Debating: the highest forum of debate, with no limit on what can be discussed.
- Constituent: amends the Constitution; both Houses have similar powers; amendments need a special majority in each.
- Electoral: elects the President and Vice-President.
- Judicial: considers proposals to remove the President, Vice-President and judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court.
Reading Shankar's cartoon of 3 April 1955 (page 108)A long queue of ministers, files and demands clutched to their chests, waits humbly at a window marked ‘Parliament’, where a stern figure presides over bags of money. NCERT: Parliament is the boss and ministers look humble — the effect of its power to sanction money to ministries. The point: control of the purse is control of the government.
Reading the chart ‘Powers of the Lok Sabha / Powers of Rajya Sabha’ (page 109)Two coloured columns. Lok Sabha: laws on Union and Concurrent List subjects; introduces money and non-money bills; approves taxation, budgets and financial statements; controls the executive through questions, motions and no-confidence; amends the Constitution; approves Emergency; elects the President and Vice-President; removes judges; sets up committees. Rajya Sabha: considers non-money bills and suggests amendments to money bills; approves amendments; questions and motions; takes part in electing and removing the President, Vice-President and judges, and alone can start the removal of the Vice-President; can empower Parliament to legislate on State-List matters. (NCERT puts Emergency approval only under the Lok Sabha — see the trap below.)
Special powers of the Rajya Sabha: as the States' chamber, it must consent if Parliament wants to legislate on a State-List matter in the national interest — though in practice its members represent parties more than States. Powers only of the Lok Sabha: the Rajya Sabha cannot introduce, reject or amend money bills, and the Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha, so the Rajya Sabha can criticise but not remove the government — because it is not directly elected, and the people are the final authority. In all else — ordinary bills, amendments, impeaching the President, removing the Vice-President — the Houses are co-equal.
Precise points on the two Houses
- Emergency: a proclamation must be approved by both Houses (Article 352); only the Lok Sabha can pass a resolution disapproving it (44th Amendment). So ‘approving Emergency’ is not an exclusive Lok Sabha power (UPSC 2006, 2022).
- State List: under Article 249 the Rajya Sabha, by two-thirds of members present and voting, lets Parliament legislate on a State-List matter in the national interest (UPSC 1987, 2006, 2012, 2016). This does not move the subject to another list, as NCERT's wording suggests — that needs a constitutional amendment.
- The Rajya Sabha has equal power in amending the Constitution (UPSC 2020) and can also create new All India Services (Article 312).
- The Rajya Sabha cannot vote on demands for grants or amend a money bill, but it can discuss the budget (UPSC 2015).
4. How Parliament makes laws
In simple wordsA law is like a school building project: someone argues for it, an architect drafts it, a committee checks every detail, the trustees vote, a second board approves, and the head signs off. Skipping steps leads to cracks.
A bill is a draft law: a government bill if a minister proposes it, a private member's bill otherwise. Law-making begins before Parliament — parties, interest groups, media and citizens press for it; the Cabinet weighs resources, support, electoral impact and coalition partners; then the ministry concerned drafts it (NCERT's example: a bill raising girls' marriage age from 18 to 21, drafted by the law ministry with the women and child ministry). A bill can be introduced in either House, usually by the minister; a money bill only in the Lok Sabha. Much discussion happens in committees — ‘miniature legislatures’; then the bill is voted on, and the other House repeats the process.
Reading the bill flowchart and the ‘Types of Bills’ chart (pages 111–112)
- A circular flowchart on a grey disc: ‘People's inputs’ feed in at the top; the bill is introduced in either House (if non-money), sent to a committee or discussed in the House, the committee reports, the House may or may not accept the report, detailed discussion follows, the bill is accepted or rejected, sent to the other House, which approves or recommends, a joint session if required, then the President approves or returns it — and the bill becomes law.
- ‘Types of Bills’: government vs private member's; money vs non-money; non-money bills split into ordinary and constitution amendment bills.
⤵ How an ordinary bill becomes law
Need for lawparty promises, interest groups, media, citizens; Cabinet approves the policy
Draftingby the ministry concerned (legislative department of the law ministry)
Introductionin either House, usually by the minister
Committee scrutinya standing or select committee examines and reports — or the House discusses it directly
Clause-by-clause discussion and votethe House passes or rejects it
Other House agreessame procedure again
Deadlockthe President may summon a joint sitting
President's assentor return once for reconsideration — then the bill becomes an Act
If the Houses disagree on a bill, a joint session may resolve it; in the few joint sittings held, the decision always went the Lok Sabha's way. For a money bill, the Rajya Sabha can approve it or suggest changes but cannot reject it; if it does not act within 14 days the bill is deemed passed; the Lok Sabha may accept or reject its suggestions. Bills passed by both Houses go to the President for assent.
⤵ Path of a money bill
President recommends; introduced in Lok SabhaBeyond NCERT: the Speaker's certificate that it is a money bill is final
Lok Sabha passesand transmits it to the Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha: 14 daysmay only make recommendations
Lok Sabha accepts some, all or nonethe bill is passed in that form
Rajya Sabha silentdeemed passed after 14 days
President's assenta money bill cannot be returned for reconsideration
Reading R.K. Laxman's cartoon (page 113) and the Article 109 box (page 114)
- Two politicians lounge in a sitting room, one raising a hand: ‘OK, let's not argue! Let's settle the issue through consensus — you support the bill and I will oppose it!’ NCERT asks: is this how they follow the ‘rules of the game’? The joke: ‘consensus’ reduced to a staged show of support and opposition — politics as performance rather than deliberation.
- A small box prints the opening of Article 109: a money bill shall not be introduced in the Council of States.
Beyond NCERT — joint sittings, money bills, lapsing bills
- Article 108: the President summons a joint sitting if one House rejects a bill, the Houses disagree on amendments, or six months pass without the other House passing it. The Speaker presides; it passes by a simple majority of members present and voting (UPSC 2015). There is no joint sitting for money bills or constitution amendment bills (UPSC 2012, 2023). Joint sittings have been held three times: 1961 (Dowry Prohibition Bill), 1978 (Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill) and 2002 (Prevention of Terrorism Bill — which NCERT mentions as rejected by the Rajya Sabha) (UPSC 2003). Mains 2017 asked when joint sessions can and cannot be held.
- Article 110 defines a money bill (taxes, borrowing, the Consolidated or Contingency Fund, appropriation from the Consolidated Fund, etc. — UPSC 2018); Article 109 sets the 14-day procedure (UPSC 1979, 1980, 2000, 2013, 2024). A finance bill that is not a money bill can be amended or rejected by the Rajya Sabha (UPSC 2023).
- Constitution amendment bills need a special majority in each House separately (UPSC 2003).
- Lapsing on dissolution of the Lok Sabha: bills pending in the Lok Sabha, or passed by it and pending in the Rajya Sabha, lapse; a bill pending in the Rajya Sabha but not yet passed by the Lok Sabha does not, nor does a bill for which a joint sitting has been notified (UPSC 2016, 2024). Prorogation does not make a bill lapse.
- A private member's bill can be moved by any member who is not a minister — not only nominated members; only a handful have ever become law, the last in 1970 (UPSC 2017).
Reading ‘Check your progress’ on time for bills (page 114)Can Parliament devote enough time to each bill? Often not — many bills pass with little debate. Remedies: refer every major bill to a committee, publish drafts for public comment, fix a minimum number of sitting days, and protect debating time from disruption.
5. How Parliament controls the executive
In simple wordsA strong team captain can bully the team unless the team can question him, hold the kitty and replace him. Parliament's tools do exactly that to the Cabinet.
With a disciplined majority, the executive could slide into ‘Cabinet dictatorship’, the House merely following. Only an active, vigilant Parliament can check it — and basic to that is members' freedom: no action can be taken against a member for what he says in the House — parliamentary privilege — and the presiding officer decides breaches of privilege.
- Deliberation and discussion: during law-making and general debates; Question Hour every sitting day, where ministers face searching questions — perhaps the most effective vigil, with the best attendance; Zero Hour for any important matter (ministers need not reply); half-an-hour discussions; adjournment motions. Heated protests, walks to the well of the House and walkouts waste time but are also techniques to extract concessions.
- Approval and ratification of laws: majorities cannot be taken for granted; when the government lacked a Rajya Sabha majority (Janata, 1977; NDA, 2000) it had to make concessions. Some bills failed — NCERT cites the Lok Pal Bill and the Prevention of Terrorism Bill, rejected by the Rajya Sabha in 2002.
- Financial control: the budget is a constitutional obligation; the House can debate why money is needed and probe misuse through the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee; through money it shapes policy.
- No-confidence motion: the most powerful weapon — ‘fictional rather than real’ against a solid majority, but after 1989 several governments fell when coalition partners withdrew.
Reading the side cartoons on pages 115–116
- A girl asks: with so many sting operations, are MPs still free to say anything anywhere? Privilege covers what is said and votes cast in the House, not outside it — and (Beyond NCERT) since Sita Soren v. Union of India (2024) it does not protect a member who takes a bribe to speak or vote, overruling the 1998 P.V. Narasimha Rao ruling.
- A boy says it must be hard to be a minister — like an examination almost every day. That is the purpose of Question Hour.
⤵ A no-confidence motion (rules Beyond NCERT)
Notice in the Lok Sabhaonly there — the Rajya Sabha cannot entertain one
Leave of the Houseat least 50 members must support it
Debatethe whole government's record is attacked and defended
Motion failsgovernment continues
Motion passesthe entire Council of Ministers must resign
Beyond NCERT — motions, questions and money
- The no-confidence motion is not mentioned in the Constitution; it comes from the Lok Sabha's rules and can be moved only there; it need not state grounds (UPSC 1990, 2004, 2014). It implements Article 75(3).
- Germany has a ‘constructive’ vote of no confidence: the Bundestag can remove a Chancellor only by electing a successor (UPSC 1997).
- Questions: starred questions get oral answers and allow supplementaries; unstarred get written answers, without supplementaries (UPSC 2026 — none of its three statements is correct). An adjournment motion discusses a definite matter of urgent public importance (UPSC 2012). Question Hour, supplementaries and adjournment motions all control the Council of Ministers (UPSC 2017).
- Money: all receipts go to the Consolidated Fund (UPSC 2011); nothing can be withdrawn without an Appropriation Act passed by Parliament (UPSC 2004, 2011); expenditure ‘charged’ on the Fund can be discussed but not voted (UPSC 1989); Parliament cannot raise taxes or charged expenditure without the President's recommendation (UPSC 1993); demands for grants need the President's recommendation (UPSC 2024); a vote on account covers only expenditure, while an interim budget is a full statement (UPSC 2011). If the Lok Sabha rejects the budget, the government resigns (UPSC 2011). Methods of financial control include the budget, appropriation, supplementary grants and votes on account (UPSC 2012).
- The Attorney General may speak in either House and its committees but cannot vote (Article 88; UPSC 1984, 1988, 2013); he is not the only official so allowed, and need not resign with the government (UPSC 2022).
Effective control needs time, interested members and willingness to compromise. NCERT notes a decline over two decades in the number of sittings and in debate, plus absent quorums and boycotts that deprive the House of its power to control through discussion.
Reading the Activity and Irfan's first cartoon (pages 117–118)
- Activity: follow Parliament on Doordarshan or in newspapers for three days — issues, the Speaker's role, questions, parties, your region's members, national or regional issues.
- Irfan's cartoon: under a banner for Parliament's fifty years, a boy asks a portly MP how many walkouts there have been in those fifty years, and the MP, briefcase in hand, is taken aback. NCERT asks whether the walkout has been overused. Walkouts register protest, but used routinely they replace the debate that makes control real.
6. Committees of Parliament
In simple wordsA class of fifty cannot plan a school fest together; small teams handle food, stage and money and report back. Committees are Parliament's teams.
Parliament meets only in sessions and has little time, while laws, ministries' demands for grants, departmental spending and corruption inquiries need in-depth study. Committees do this. A system of standing committees has grown up — over twenty department-related committees supervising ministries' work, budgets, spending and bills. Joint Parliamentary Committees, drawn from both Houses, examine particular bills or investigate financial irregularities. Committees have lightened Parliament's load; the House rarely rejects their suggestions, though legally nothing becomes law or is sanctioned without Parliament's approval.
Committee facts (Beyond NCERT)
- NCERT says standing committees developed ‘since 1983’; the department-related standing committees were set up in 1993 and number 24 today (16 serviced by the Lok Sabha, 8 by the Rajya Sabha).
- Financial committees: Public Accounts, Estimates, Public Undertakings (UPSC 1992). The Estimates Committee (30 members, all from the Lok Sabha) is the largest (UPSC 2003, 2014). The PAC has 15 Lok Sabha and 7 Rajya Sabha members — no outsiders; its chairman is appointed by the Speaker, by convention from the opposition; it examines the appropriation and finance accounts and CAG reports (UPSC 2007, 2013; Mains 2017).
- The Committee on Subordinate Legislation checks rules made by the executive under delegated powers (UPSC 2018). The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee began as ad hoc (UPSC 2024). The Committee on the Welfare of SCs and STs has more Lok Sabha than Rajya Sabha members and a one-year term (UPSC 2026).
- Parliament controls the administration chiefly through its committees, not ministries' consultative committees (UPSC 2001).
7. How Parliament regulates itself: the presiding officer and anti-defection
In simple wordsEven a debate competition needs a moderator who decides whose turn it is and who broke the rules. The Speaker is Parliament's moderator — and also the judge in defection cases.
Debate must be orderly to keep Parliament's dignity. The Constitution makes provisions for this, and the presiding officer (Speaker in the Lok Sabha, Chairman in the Rajya Sabha) is the final authority in regulating the House's business.
Reading N.V. Gadgil's portrait and quotation, and the side cartoon (page 119)
- A sketch of N.V. Gadgil in a Gandhi cap with heavy spectacles, and his words of 18 November 1949: the legislature is restricted only in procedure; in substance there is no limit on its sovereignty. (Beyond NCERT: in India Parliament's substantive power is in fact limited by Fundamental Rights, federalism and the basic structure — the difference from British parliamentary sovereignty that UPSC 2021 and Mains 2023 asked about.)
- A girl remarks: so lawmakers too are subject to some laws! Yes — rules of procedure, privilege committees and the anti-defection law.
Anti-defection: most legislators are elected on a party ticket. For years after independence, members switching parties after election was unregulated; finally parties agreed, and the 52nd Amendment (1985) — the anti-defection amendment, later modified by the 91st Amendment — was passed. The presiding officer decides all cases. A member found to have defected loses his seat and is barred from political office such as ministership. Defection means remaining absent or voting against party instructions, or voluntarily leaving the party. Experience: the law has not curbed defections but has given party leaders and presiding officers more power over members.
⤵ A defection case
Member defies the partyleaves it, or votes/abstains against its direction
Petition to the presiding officerusually by the party leader
Speaker / Chairman decidesBeyond NCERT: no fixed time limit in the law (UPSC 2022)
Disqualifiedseat lost; barred from ministerial and remunerative political office until re-elected
Judicial reviewBeyond NCERT: courts can review the decision (Kihoto Hollohan, 1992)
Reading Irfan's second cartoon and the side cartoon (page 120)
- Irfan: a group of MPs file out of the chamber past a stern marshal, protesting that they are not walking out — they have been thrown out. NCERT asks why such situations occur: when protest becomes disruption, the presiding officer orders members out to restore order.
- A boy asks why members change parties and whether they ever go back — often for office or because of rifts; some do return, which is why critics call defection opportunistic.
Beyond NCERT — the Speaker and disqualification
- Speaker (Articles 93–96): elected by the Lok Sabha from among its members; continues after dissolution until just before the new House first meets (UPSC 2004, 2025); resigns to the Deputy Speaker; removable by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members after 14 days' notice (UPSC 2025). While a removal resolution is pending he cannot preside but may speak and vote in the first instance — not a casting vote (UPSC 2024). No constitutional rule requires the Speaker to leave his party (UPSC 2025; Mains 2020 ‘once a Speaker, always a Speaker’). The Speaker certifies money bills and presides over joint sittings. The Deputy Speaker's election date is fixed by the Speaker, and in the chair he has the Speaker's powers (UPSC 2022). A State Speaker vacates office on ceasing to be a member but not on dissolution (UPSC 2018); he resigns to the Deputy Speaker (UPSC 1987).
- The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the then members of the Rajya Sabha. UPSC 1985 keyed ‘none of the above’ against an option that described this as a ‘simple majority of its total members’; for that question keep the key, but learn the text of Article 90.
- Tenth Schedule (UPSC 1998, 2014; 1990 52nd Amendment): independents who join a party and nominated members who join one after six months are disqualified (UPSC 2022); the old one-third ‘split’ exception (UPSC 1989: 12 of 36) was deleted by the 91st Amendment, leaving only two-thirds mergers; grounds include voluntarily giving up membership and defying a whip (UPSC 1992). Defection cases go to the presiding officer; other disqualifications (office of profit, etc.) are decided by the President on the Election Commission's opinion (Articles 102–103; UPSC 1979, 2025). Key note: UPSC 2025 treats the statement ‘there is no mention of the word political party in the Constitution’ as correct, though the Tenth Schedule repeatedly uses ‘political party’ — keep the key for that question but know the text.
- Kihoto Hollohan (1992) upheld the Tenth Schedule but made the presiding officer's decision subject to judicial review. Office of profit is not defined in the Constitution; the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959 lists exempt offices (UPSC 2019). A seat can be declared vacant after 60 days' absence without permission (Article 101; UPSC 1990).
- The Leader of the Opposition was first recognised in the Lok Sabha in 1969; recognition requires one-tenth of the House (UPSC 2018).
Conclusion (NCERT): Parliament is a rainbow of regions, languages, castes and religions; members fight bitterly and may seem to waste time, yet they control the executive and voice the interests of all sections. As the most representative organ, the legislature holds a high position of power and responsibility — the democratic potential of Parliament.
NCERT's in-text questions, cartoons and activities — short answers
Activity: what if there were no legislatures? Did Parliament succeed in controlling the executive in each report? (pages 101–102)
Without legislatures, price rises and policies would go unchallenged. 2002 and 1998: success — rollbacks forced by opposition pressure. 1983: Parliament rose above parties to address Assam. 1985: even ruling-party members raised atrocities — accountability within the majority.
Whom do nominated members represent, and do they contribute? (page 106)
Expertise and distinction in literature, science, art and social service rather than any constituency. Some contribute richly; many rarely attend or speak — a common criticism.
Activity: chart Rajya Sabha seats against 2011 population. (page 106)
Seats rise with population (UP 31) but not proportionally — small States such as Sikkim (1) or Goa (1) get more seats per head, a softened version of equal representation.
Check your progress: has the Rajya Sabha protected the States? Direct election? Should Lok Sabha seats rise? (page 107)
States: partly — Article 249 needs its consent, but members vote by party. Direct election: more legitimacy, but it would duplicate the Lok Sabha and blur the States' voice; indirect election by MLAs keeps the federal link. More Lok Sabha seats: each MP now represents very large and unequal populations; an increase after a new census would restore ‘one vote, one value’, but must balance States that controlled population and those that did not.
‘So the Lok Sabha controls the purse — it must be the more powerful House.’ (page 110)
Yes in finance and in making and unmaking governments; but on ordinary bills, amendments and impeachment the Houses are equal, and the Rajya Sabha has its own special powers.
Laxman: ‘You support the bill and I will oppose it.’ Is this following the rules of the game? (page 113)
No — it mocks staged opposition. Real deliberation means arguing on merits and changing a bill through debate and committees, not choreographing positions.
Check your progress: enough time for bills? Remedies? (page 114)
Often not; remedies — compulsory committee referral of major bills, pre-legislative consultation, more sitting days, protected debate time, and fewer disruptions.
With sting operations, are MPs free to say anything anywhere? (page 115)
Only in the House: privilege covers speech and votes there. It does not protect statements outside, nor (since 2024) bribe-taking for a speech or vote.
‘Being a minister is like an exam every day.’ (page 116)
Exactly the intent of Question Hour: ministers must be ready daily to justify their departments.
Irfan: has the walkout been overused? (page 118)
A walkout is a legitimate protest, but routine walkouts and boycotts leave the government unquestioned and waste debating time; reasoned opposition inside the House is usually a stronger check.
‘So the lawmakers too are subject to some laws!’ (page 119)
Yes: the Constitution's procedures, rules of each House, privilege rules, the anti-defection law and disqualification laws.
Irfan: ‘We are not walking out, we have been ordered out.’ Why? (page 120)
When protests become disruptive, the presiding officer can name and suspend members or have them removed to maintain order — the House's power to regulate itself.
Why do members change parties, and do they return? (page 120)
Office, money, disagreement with leaders, or local political calculations; some do return, showing that many switches are opportunistic rather than ideological.
NCERT exercise — answer outlines
Try each question yourself first, then open the outline to compare. NCERT has no MCQs in this chapter; the self-check below is built from the text and Prelims patterns.
Q1. Alok: elect the PM and ministers and leave government to them — no need for a legislature. Agree?
No. Without a legislature: no daily accountability, no debate, no approval of taxes and spending, no law-making by representatives of all regions and groups, no way to remove a government between elections. An efficient but unchecked executive can become arbitrary. Parliament also represents the opposition and minorities. A directly elected executive still needs a legislature, as in the USA.
Q2. Neha: bicameralism serves no purpose. Shama: nominate experts to the second chamber. Tridib: a non-federal country needs no second chamber.
Neha: disagree — a second House reconsiders hasty decisions and represents States. Shama: partly — some nominated experts (India has 12) add knowledge, but a wholly nominated chamber would lack democratic legitimacy. Tridib: partly — the second chamber's strongest rationale is federal, but unitary countries (UK) use one for revision and expertise.
Q3. Why can the Lok Sabha control the executive more effectively than the Rajya Sabha?
The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha; only it can pass a no-confidence motion, vote demands for grants and decide money bills; it is directly elected, so it carries the people's mandate. The Rajya Sabha can question and debate but cannot remove the government.
Q4. ‘Rather than control the executive, the Lok Sabha is a platform for popular sentiment.’ Agree?
Both roles exist. It does voice sentiment (debates, Zero Hour, protests), and a disciplined majority blunts control. But it also controls — Question Hour, committees, budget, CAG/PAC scrutiny, and governments fell on the floor after 1989. Expression of sentiment is itself a form of control, forcing rollbacks (urea 1998, 2002).
Q5. Proposals: longer sessions; compulsory attendance; Speakers empowered to penalise interruptions. Agree? Effects?
Longer sessions: agree — more time for bills and scrutiny. Compulsory attendance: partly — better quorum and participation, but members also have constituency work; incentives may work better than compulsion. Penalties for disruption: partly — restores order, but risks silencing the opposition if presiding officers are partisan; rules must be applied evenly.
Q6. Arif: if ministers propose most bills and the majority passes them, what is Parliament's role?
Bills are improved in committees and debate; the government often amends them under pressure; the Rajya Sabha can force concessions when the government lacks a majority there; some bills are withdrawn or fail; debate informs public opinion; and passage gives laws democratic legitimacy.
Q7. Which do you agree with most: legislators should be free to join any party; the anti-defection law has made party leaders dominant; defectors should be barred from ministry for two years?
Most defensible: the second — NCERT's own assessment; whips now govern almost every vote, reducing independent judgement. The first ignores voters who chose a party; the third is close to existing law (the 91st Amendment already bars disqualified defectors from ministerial office until re-elected). Reforms: limit the whip to confidence and money votes; give decisions to an independent tribunal or the Election Commission; time limits for Speakers.
Q8. Dolly: less debate, more disruption and walkouts show Parliament's decline. Sudha: governments falling on the floor show its vibrancy. Other arguments?
For Dolly: fewer sitting days, bills passed without debate, ordinances, weak attendance, Cabinet dominance. For Sudha: no-confidence votes after 1989, active committees, rollbacks forced by Parliament, televised proceedings, more diverse members, RTI-era scrutiny. Balanced conclusion: Parliament's formal power is intact; its quality of deliberation needs repair.
Q9. Arrange the stages of a bill and say what happens if the President does not sign.
(1) The minister proposes the need for a bill. (2) The legislative department of the law ministry drafts it. (3) A resolution/motion admits the bill (introduction). (4) It is referred to a committee, which makes changes and reports back. (5) It is read clause by clause and each clause voted upon. (6) It is passed in the House of origin. (7) The other House passes it. (8) It goes to the President. If he does not sign: for an ordinary bill he may return it once for reconsideration; if Parliament passes it again he must sign; he may also sit on it (pocket veto). A money bill cannot be returned.
Q10. How has the committee system affected Parliament's scrutiny of legislation?
Positively: detailed, expert, less partisan examination; evidence from experts and stakeholders; budget scrutiny of each ministry; reduced burden on the House; JPCs for major issues. Limits: not all bills are referred, reports are advisory, and attendance can be poor. Mains 2018, 2021 and 2023 asked exactly this.
What to remember
Numbers
States with Legislative Councils (NCERT)6 — AP, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, UP
Lok Sabha constituencies543 (unchanged since the 1971 census)
Lok Sabha term5 years (maximum)
Rajya Sabha term6 years; one-third retire every 2 years
Nominated Rajya Sabha members12
Rajya Sabha seats: UP / Sikkim31 / 1
Money bill in Rajya Sabhamust be returned within 14 days
Anti-defection amendment52nd, 1985; modified by the 91st (2003)
Germany's Bundesrat69 seats, 16 states
Joint sittings held (Beyond NCERT)3 — 1961, 1978, 2002
Max gap between sessions (Beyond NCERT)6 months
Quorum (Beyond NCERT)one-tenth of the House
No-confidence motion support (Beyond NCERT)50 members
Department-related standing committees (Beyond NCERT)24, since 1993
Public Accounts Committee (Beyond NCERT)22 members (15 LS + 7 RS)
Estimates Committee (Beyond NCERT)30 members, all Lok Sabha
Absence without leave (Beyond NCERT)60 days → seat may be declared vacant
Ceilings (Beyond NCERT)Lok Sabha 550 elected; Rajya Sabha 250
One-liners
- Parliament = President + Rajya Sabha + Lok Sabha.
- Rajya Sabha: permanent, indirect, population-based seats.
- Money bills: only Lok Sabha; Rajya Sabha recommends in 14 days.
- Joint sittings: only for ordinary bills; Speaker presides; simple majority.
- Council of Ministers answers to the Lok Sabha alone.
- Article 249: Rajya Sabha (two-thirds) can let Parliament legislate on a State subject.
- Committees are ‘miniature legislatures’.
- Anti-defection: presiding officer decides; courts can review.
Traps to avoid
- Emergency is approved by both Houses; only its disapproval is a Lok Sabha power.
- Article 249 does not shift a subject to another list.
- No joint sitting for money bills or constitutional amendment bills.
- A bill pending in the Rajya Sabha (not passed by Lok Sabha) does not lapse on dissolution.
- The no-confidence motion is not in the Constitution; it is a Lok Sabha rule.
- Unstarred questions get written answers and no supplementaries.
- PAC members are all MPs; chair appointed by the Speaker.
- Department-related standing committees date from 1993, not 1983 (NCERT).
- The Lokpal Bill NCERT says ‘failed’ was enacted in 2013; POTA passed at a 2002 joint sitting.
- UPSC 2025 says the Constitution never mentions ‘political party’ — the Tenth Schedule does; keep the key only for that question.
How to strategise
Prelims — what UPSC asks
- Composition: Parliament's parts (1980, 2012), Rajya Sabha never dissolved (1981) and representation by population (1987), nominated and Anglo-Indian members (1988, 2003), 1971 census freeze (1988), UTs in the Rajya Sabha (1991, 2012), Lok Sabha dissolution and extension (1984, 2002), sessions (1980, 2020), Legislative Councils (1979, 1992, 2015), non-member presiding (1983).
- Powers and law-making: Rajya Sabha and money bills (1979, 1980, 2000, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2023, 2024), Article 249 (1987, 2006, 2012, 2016), exclusive Lok Sabha powers (2022), equal powers (2020), joint sittings (1980, 2003, 2012, 2015), amendment bills (2003), lapsing bills (2016, 2024), private members' bills (2017), prorogation and dissolution (2004, 2024).
- Control and finance: no-confidence (1990, 1997, 2004, 2014), adjournment motion (2012), questions (2026), motions and Question Hour (2017), committees (1992, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2024, 2026), budget and funds (1989, 1993, 2004, 2011 ×3, 2012, 2024), Attorney General (1984, 1988, 2013, 2022).
- Presiding officers and defection: Speaker (1993, 2004, 2012, 2018, 2024, 2025), Deputy Speaker (2022), Deputy Chairman (1985), State Speaker (1987), CEC/Speaker/Deputy Chairman match (1984), anti-defection (1989, 1990, 1992, 1998, 2014, 2022, 2025), disqualification (1979, 1990, 2019), Leader of Opposition (2018), British vs Indian model (2021).
Mains — where it appears and how to answer
- GS2 — decline of Parliament: individual MPs' diminishing role (2013, 2019), accountability of the executive (2021), British vs Indian parliamentary sovereignty (2023).
- GS2 — institutions: Rajya Sabha's transformation (2020), Legislative Councils (2021), Vice-President as Rajya Sabha Chairman (2022), joint sessions (2017), privileges under Article 105 (2014).
- GS2 — committees: PAC (2017), Estimates Committee and usefulness of committees (2018), department-related standing committees (2021), financial committees and institutionalisation (2023).
- GS2 — presiding officers: ‘once a Speaker, always a Speaker’ (2020), State presiding officers (2023), Speaker and anti-defection (2026).
- Answer frame: constitutional basis (Arts 79–122) → practice (sittings, disruption, committees) → data trends → comparison (UK, USA, Germany) → reforms (minimum sittings, committee referral, independent defection tribunal, neutral Speaker).
Self-check
Tap an option. NCERT's own exercise questions come first; the rest test the figures and common confusions.
1. Within how many days must the Rajya Sabha return a money bill?
2. A deadlock between the Houses can be resolved by a joint sitting for:
3. A joint sitting passes a bill by:
4. Which is an exclusive power of the Lok Sabha?
5. Parliament can legislate on a State-List matter in the national interest if a resolution is passed by:
6. Which statement about the Rajya Sabha is correct?
7. The anti-defection law was introduced by the:
8. Which committee is the largest committee of Parliament?
UPSC questions from this chapter
Open any question to attempt it in the Question bank — your attempt is saved to your progress.