THE INDIAN PARLIAMENT AND PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

The Indian Parliament comprises two Houses – Lok Sabha (House of the People), and Rajya Sabha, (Council of the States), and the President of India. Parliament has four primary functions: to make laws, to sanction government expenditure, to oversee the work of the government, and to represent the interests of the people

According to the Constitution of India, the union legislative body is called the Parliament. The Hindi term for Parliament is Sansad. The Parliament includes the President and the two Houses – the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha).  

Rajya Sabha: The Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the Upper House of Parliament. The House has a maximum of 250 members, out of which 12 members are nominated by the President for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature, science, and social services. The remaining 238 members are elected by the members of the legislative bodies from the States and Union Territories. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and unlike the Lok Sabha, it cannot be dissolved at any time.

Each member of the Rajaya Sabha serves for a term of six years. But one third of its members retire at the expiration of every two years. The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. It, however, elects a Deputy Chairman from among its members who takes care of the day-to-day working of the House. Both Houses have equal legislative powers except in the area of finance where the Lok Sabha is given overriding powers.

Lok Sabha: The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the Lower House of Parliament. The members are directly elected to the House. The electorate consists of all citizens who have attained 18 years of age and are otherwise not disqualified to vote under the law. Under the Constitution, the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha can be 552 members. The Constitution provides that up to 530 members would represent territorial constituencies in the states, up to 20 members would represent the Union Territories, and two members would be appointed by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian community if there is inadequate representation of the community.

The minimum age for qualification as a member of the Lok Sabha is 25 years. Each Lok Sabha is formed for a period of five years, at the end of which the House is dissolved. The House can be dissolved before the completion of the term or it can be extended by a Proclamation of Emergency. The period of extension cannot exceed one year at a time. A Speaker and a Deputy Speaker, elected by the members of the Lok Sabha, conduct day to day business. The Deputy Speaker presides during the absence of the Speaker.

In the Indian system, the Council of Ministers are also Members of Parliament (that is, there is an overlap of the legislative and executive functions for several members) For those members who are part of the Council of Ministers, there is an additional responsibility of the executive as compared to those who are not in the Council of Ministers.

The broad functions of Parliament can be described as follows:
- Legislative responsibility: To pass laws
- Oversight responsibility: To ensure that the executive (i.e. government) performs its duties satisfactorily
- Representative responsibility: To represent the views and aspirations of the people of their constituency in Parliament.
- “Power of the Purse” responsibility: To approve and oversee the revenues and expenditures proposed by the government
 

Government of India
 

The President is the formal, constitutional head of the Republic of India. After the Lok Sabha elections, the President invites the leader of the party or parties with the majority of votes in the Lok Sabha to form the Government. The President appoints the leader of the majority party as the Prime Minister and on the advice of the Prime Minister appoints other ministers. The ministers can be chosen from both Houses of Parliament. The political power is vested with the Prime Minister and his team of ministers – the Council of Ministers.

The Council of Ministers constitute the Government of India and the government is headed by the Prime Minister. The Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, (together forming the Executive) is responsible for the governance of the country and is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. If the Lok Sabha passes a motion of no-confidence  against the Council of Ministers, the term of the Government comes to an end. As the leader of the majority, the Prime Minister is also the Leader of the Lok Sabha. He has to perform certain parliamentary functions like proposing dates of calling the House in session to the Speaker and drawing up the programme of official business. The leader of the largest party in opposition in each House is designated as the Leader of the Opposition.
Role of the President of India with regard to Parliament
The President is the constitutional head of Republic of India, directly elected by an electoral college that includes elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States.

The President performs certain constitutional functions:
- The President invites the leader of the majority party to form the Government after a new Lok Sabha is duly elected.
- The President nominates 12 members of the Rajya Sabha and has the right to nominate two members from the Anglo Indian community to the Lok Sabha if they are under-represented.
- On the advice of the Executive, the President summons the two Houses of Parliament to meet from time to time.
- The President has the power to discontinue a session in the two Houses and dissolve the Lok Sabha (in consultation with the Executive).
- The President has to agree to sign a Bill before it can become a law.
- If the Houses are not in session, the President can enact or promulgate Ordinances having the same validity as a law passed in Parliament.
- The President has the power to appoint the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of Rajya Sabha on an interim basis. - The President has the right to address either or both Houses of Parliament.
- The President has the power to call both Houses for a joint sitting in case a dispute arises over passing a Bill. In the joint sitting, the matter is decided by majority vote.

Special Powers of Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha enjoys certain special powers.
They are as follows:
· Rajya Sabha can declare that it would be in the national interest for the Parliament to make laws on any subject in the State List; and
· Rajya Sabha is empowered to make laws creating one or more All India Services, which would be common to the Union and State, if it is deemed to serve the national interest. The services such as the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, and All-India Judicial Service are part of the All India Services.

Mechanisms for public engagement with legislative process in India

Legislation may be initiated by stakeholders or from within the government. Some Bills, such as the Right to Information Bill (now an Act) and the Jan Lok Pal Bill, were drafted by civil society groups. Public participation regarding draft Bills is not statutorily mandated. The government has taken steps to increase public engagement. In some cases the government has invited stakeholders to consultations on proposed Bills. Once draft Bills are published time is allotted to submit of comments.

Subordinate legislation: Once Bills are enacted, they may require Rules to enable their implementation. The General Clauses Act, 1897 provides a process of publication of draft Rules when the principal Act requires such publication. Under the Act, the notifying authority is required to take into consideration suggestions received from the public

 Legislative scrutiny

Public participation during legislative scrutiny may be conducted through Parliamentary Committees. Prior to1993, Bills were occasionally referred to ad-hoc Joint or Select Parliamentary Committees. Since then Department Related Standing Committees (DRSC) have been established to scrutinise Bills. There are 24 DRSCs that cover all ministries of the central government. Once a Bill is introduced in Parliament, it may be referred to a DRSC. Committees publish notices seeking suggestions within a specified timeframe. In most cases, a period of 15 days is provided to send comments. The level of public engagement with standing committees varies with different Bills.

Post-legislative Scrutiny

Scrutiny of current laws is not mandatory in India. However, mechanisms exist for undertaking review of laws. Various Commissions, such as the Law Commission, conduct review of legislation. Since its establishment in 1956, the Law Commission has submitted 236 reports. The Commission identifies laws that require amendments or repeal. In preparing its review of laws the Commission circulates its draft analysis amongst the public and invites comments. It also organizes seminars and workshops in different parts of the country to elicit opinion on proposed strategies.

Some recommendations for increasing public participation in the legislative process were made by the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution in its Report in 2002. The Commission suggested that draft Bills should be subjected to thorough and rigorous examination by experts and laymen alike. The proposed legislations should be circulated for public discussion among professional bodies, business organisations, trade unions, academics and other interested persons. It also recommended that all Bills should be referred to DRSCs for consideration and scrutiny after public opinion has been sought over the Bill. It was of the opinion that DRSCs may schedule public hearings, if necessary.

Summary

 Public Participation at the Pre-Legislative Stage

• Consultations over draft Bills: Draft Bills and Rules are published and comments sought. There is no mandatory requirement

 Public Participation at the Legislative Stage

• Mandatory reference of Bills to Committees: No, the Speaker decides
• Mandatory consultation with public: No, Committees are empowered to take comments
• Regional consultations: Rare
• Notice inviting feedback: Newspapers, internet and radio
• Committee’s power to summon persons: Yes
• Public meetings of Committees: Usually sittings are in private
• Public availability of submissions before Committee: Only evidence tabled in Parliament is made available.
• Power of Committee to amend the Bill: Not binding
• Government response to Committee report: No
• Publication of Committee reports: Yes

 Public Participation at the Post-Legislative Stage

• Compulsory post-legislative scrutiny: No. Special Commissions may be appointed to conduct review.
• Public Participation in Post-Legislative Stage: Comments take account of submissions made to Ministry and other research conducted