EDITORIALS & ARTICLES
Dec 4th, 2021 - Daily Quiz
1. Consider the following statements w.r.t. System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
1. It is an international initiative by UNEP.
2. Its objective is to increase awareness among general public.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
2. Which among the following are ways by which Indian Citizenship can be renounced?
1. By Renunciation
2. By Termination
3. By Deprivation
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
3. With reference to The office of ‘whip’ in the parliament, consider the following statements::
1. The office of whip is mentioned in the Article 81 of Indian Constitution.
2. Only the ruling political party and the leading opposition parties are entitled to have its own whip in the Parliament.
Which of the above given statements is/are correct?
(a)1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
4. Consider the following
1. Bhima
2. Hasdo
3. Musi
4. Ong
5. Sheonath
Which of the above are important tributaries of River Krishna ?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
5. With reference to the special powers of the Rajya Sabha, consider the following statements:
1. To create additional All-India Services
2. To endorse Emergency under Article 352
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answers
- (b)
http://safar.tropmet.res.in/ABOUT%20SAFAR-1-2-Details
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/share-of-stubble-burning-in-delhispm25-count-146-in-november/article37781255.ece
- (d)
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/6-lakh-indians-renounced-citizenship/article37777526.ece
The citizenship act 1955 prescribes three ways of losing citizenship:
1. By renunciation:
Any citizen of India of full age and capacity can make a declaration renouncing Indian citizenship
Such a declaration may not be accepted during war.
Even the minor children of the person who renounces citizenship stands to lose their Indian citizenship. However, when their children attain the age of eighteen, he may resume Indian citizenship.
2. By termination:
If a citizen of India voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country, then he loses the citizenship of India However, this provision does not apply during times of war.
3. By deprivation:
Compulsory termination of Indian citizenship by the Central government, in the following conditions:
• Obtained the citizenship by fraud.
• Citizen has shown disloyalty to the Constitution of India.
• Citizen has unlawfully traded or communicated during the times of war.
• Within 5 years of naturalization, the said citizen is imprisoned for a term of two years.
• Citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for a period of 7 years.
- (d)
The Supreme Court has recently said that the dissident legislators of Karnataka cannot be compelled to participate in the current Assembly session. It is against the previous orders of SC on the anti-defection law.
- Under the Tenth Schedule(anti-defection law) a political party has a constitutional right to issue a whip to its legislators.
- SC in Kihoto Holohan vs Zachillhu case, 1992held that the application of the Tenth Schedule is limited to a vote on “motion of confidence” or “no-confidence” in the government or where the motion under consideration relates to a matter which was an integral policy and programme of the political party.
- Paragraph 2(1)(b) provides for a lawmaker’s disqualification “if he votes or abstains from voting in such House contrary to any direction issued by the political party to which he belongs”.
Whip
- The concept of the whip was inherited from colonial British rule. It is used in parliamentary parlance often for floor management by political parties in the legislature.
- A whip is a written order that political party issue to its members for being present for an important vote, or that they vote only in a particular way. The term is derived from the old British practice of “whipping in” lawmakers to follow the party line.
- They are vital in maintaining the links between the internal organisation of the party inside the Parliament. A whip is also an important office-bearer of the party in the Parliament.
- In India, all parties can issue a whip to their members. Parties appoint a senior member from among their House contingents to issue whips. This member is called a Chief Whip, and he/she is assisted by additional Whips.
- Constitutional status:The office of ‘whip’, is mentioned neither in the Constitution of India nor in the Rules of the House nor in a Parliamentary Statute. It is based on the conventions of the parliamentary government.
- Non-applicability of Whip:There are some cases such as Presidential elections where whips cannot direct a Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) on whom to vote.
Types of Whips
- The One-line whipto inform the members about a vote. It allows a member to abstain in case they decide not to follow the party line.
- The Two-line whipis issued to direct the members to be present in the House at the time of voting. No special instructions are given on the pattern of voting.
- The Three-line whipis issued to members directing them to vote as per the party line. It is the strictest of all the whip.
Functions of Whip
- The whip plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth and efficient conduct of business on the floor of the House.
- He is charged with the responsibility of ensuring the attendance of his party members in large numbers and securing their support in favour of or against a particular issue.
- He ensures discipline among party members in the House.
- He identifies the signs of discontent among MPs and informs the respective leaders of their party.
- He or she acts as a binding force in the party and responsible for maintaining the internal party organisation in the Parliament and.
- Violation of whip:If an MP violates his party’s whip, he faces expulsion from the House under the Anti Defection Act.
- The only exception is when more than a third of legislators vote against a directive, effectively splitting the party.
- (a)
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/information-not-forthcoming-from-karnataka-on-krishna-water-telangana-andhra-pradesh/article37749800.ece
Tributaries of Krishna River
● Right bank: Ghatprabha, Malprabha and the Tungabhadra.
● Left Bank: River Bhima, the Musi, Munneru.
- (c)
Rajya Sabha’ or the ‘Council of States’ is the second chamber of the Indian parliament, which traces its origin to the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, 1919.
Rajya Sabha as the second chamber of the parliament intended to play certain roles as a permanent house (it never dissolves like Lok sabha and one-third of its members retire every two years), revisionary house (reconsidering bills passed by the Lok Sabha) and offers a degree of continuity in the underlying policies of laws passed by parliament.
Along with this, Rajya Sabha also acts as a means to institutionalise the federal principle of power-sharing between the Centre and states.
However, the role and relevance of Rajya Sabha have been a matter of debate which can be traced from discussions in constituent assembly to recent times.
Constituent Assembly Debates Regarding Rajya Sabha
Against the Rajya Sabha
- The section in the constituent assembly who was opposed to the idea of Rajya sabha held that an Upper House was not essential and opinionated that such a chamber can prove to be a “clog in the wheel of progress” of the nation, by delaying the legislative process.
In favour of Rajya Sabha
- Proponents of the Rajya Sabha held that an upper chamber would lend a voice to the states in the legislative scheme of things and check the legislation passed in haste.
Role of Rajya Sabha
Safety Valve of India’s Federal Polity
- Bicameralism is necessary for a federal constitution to give representation to the units of the federation.
- While checks and balances usually operate between the executive, legislature and judiciary, the Council of States acts as a safety valve within the legislature itself, easing federal tensions.
- Rajya Sabha thus represents a crucial component of the constitutional checks and balances scheme, in addition to the commonly identified examples of responsible government and judicial review.
Review and Revaluation Role
- Indian constitution framers wanted to create a house that would act as arevisionary house to keep a check on the hasty legislation that could be passed by the lower house under populist pressures.
- Also, when the ruling dispensation has a brute majority in the Lok Sabha, Rajya sabha can prevent the government of the day exercising authoritarianism.
A Deliberative Body
- Parliament is not only a legislative body but also a deliberative one which enables the members to debate major issues of public importance.
- Thus, the role of the Upper House is to be a deliberative body besides balancing the “fickleness and passion” of the Lok Sabha.
Representing the Vulnerable Sections
- Women, religious, ethnic and linguistic minority groups are not adequately represented in the Lok Sabha (due tofirst past the post-election system).
- An indirect form of election (through propositional representation) to the Rajya Sabha, therefore, would give them a chance to get involved in the nation’s law-making process.
- Thus, Rajya Sabha can make a place for people who may not be able to win a popular mandate.
Special Powers of Rajya Sabha
- The Upper House also has some special powers, such as:
- Power to transfer a subject from the State List to Union List for a specified period (Article 249).
- To create additional All-India Services (Article 312).
- To endorse Emergency under Article 352 for a limited period when the Lok Sabha remains dissolved.
Issues Related to Rajya Sabha
No equal Representation of 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.
- This is in contrast with the Rajya Sabha, where states are represented proportionally to their relative populations.
- For example, the number of seats allocated in Rajya Sabha to Uttar Pradesh alone is significantly higher than that of combined north-eastern states.
Bypassing the Rajya Sabha
- In some 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.
- This can be seen recently in the controversy related to Aadhar Act.
Undermining of Federal character of Rajya Sabha
- By way of the Representation of People (Amendment) Act, 2003, parliament has removed the word ‘domicile’ from Section 3 of Representation of People Act, 1951.
- This essentially means that a person who does not belong to a state can contest the Rajya Sabha elections from that state of which they are neither a resident nor a domicile.
- After the amendment, the seats in the Rajya Sabha have been used by the ruling party to get their defeated candidate in Lok Sabha, elected in Rajya Sabha.
Low Participation of Nominated Members
- More recently, the sincerity of nominated members has been questioned in multiple instances.
- Nominations are made by the government to satisfy the sentiments of the followers of certain personalities.
- Once nominated, they rarely participate in the working of the house. Sachin Tendulkar was appointed in 2012 and the House has met 374 days since then, but the attendance of Sachin Tendulkar is a meagre 24 days.
Steps To Be Taken
- To preserve the federal character of Rajya Sabha, one step would be to have members of the Rajya Sabha be directly elected by the citizens of a state.
- This will reduce cronyism and patronage appointments.
- Also, a federal arrangement can be devised to enable equal representation for each state, so that large states do not dominate the proceedings in the House.
- There is a need for a better procedure of nomination to improve the quality of discussion in the House.
- A cue in this regard can be taken from the UK.
- The House of Lords Act, 1999 has led to the introduction of the Appointments Commission in 2000 with the primary function of making recommendations for the appointment of non-party-political members to the House of Lords.
- This commission can recommend nomination to Rajya Sabha from groups under-represented.
Even though the ups and downs of Indian politics, the Rajya Sabha has remained a vanguard for political and social values, a melting pot of cultural diversity. Also, along with Lok sabha, it is a flag-bearer of the sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic called India.
Thus, Rajya sabha should not be seen as a ‘disruptive’ wing of the legislation and efforts should be made to enable Rajya Sabha to retain its significant role in Indian democracy.
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