Lok Sabha - House of the People

Lok Sabha or House of People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a direct election with universal adult suffrage. The Lok Sabha is limited to 552 members under the Constitution, with no more than 20 members representing Union Territories and two selected by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian community. Each Lok Sabha is created for a five-year tenure and is automatically dissolved unless prolonged by a proclamation of emergency. In such cases, the term may by extended by one year increment (in 1976 the term of 6th Lok Sabha was extended by one year (10 months and 6 days). The Lok Sabha was duly constituted for the first time on 17 April 1952 after the general elections. The first session of First Lok Sabha commenced on 13 May 1952. To be a member of the Lok Sabha the person must be a citizen of India, aged 25 or over, mentally sound, should not be bankrupt and the person must not be criminally convicted. When in session Lok Sabha holds its sittings usually from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 6 pm. The Lok Sabha does not usually meet on Saturdays, Sundays, or other closed holidays. Each state is assigned a number of seats in the Lok Sabha such that the ratio of that number to its population is the same across all of India. First dissolution of Lok Sabha was conducted on 4th Lok Sabha in 1971. 

The additional powers of Lok Sabha compared to Rajya Sabha

• Motion of no confidence against the Government can only be introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha.

• Money bills can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha.

• Lok Sabha has equal powers with Rajya Sabha in initiating and passing any Bill of Constitutional Amendment, passing a motion for the impeachment of President, Judges of Supreme Court and High Court.

• The Rajya Sabha becomes the only Parliament in the event that the Lok Sabha is dissolved, either before or after a National Emergency is declared. It cannot be dissolved.

• The nominated members have the right to cast their vote during confidence votes and other money bills. The only exception is that nominated members are not allowed to vote during presidential elections.

• Lok Sabha has its own TV channel, Lok Sabha TV, headquartered within the Parliament premises.

Speaker

The presiding officer of the lower house is the speaker. The Speaker is the ex-officio chairman of the Business Advisory Committee and the Rules Committee. The Speaker is elected by the members of the Lok Sabha from among themselves. The Speaker oversees the privileges of Lok Sabha members. If the office of speaker becomes vacant, the Lok Sabha elects a new member. The President determines the Speaker's election date. He resigns by writing to the Deputy Speaker. If the two houses cannot agree on approving a law other than a money bill, the president shall call a joint session of the two houses to resolve the disagreement, and the Speaker shall preside over the meeting. Normally, the Speaker has no voting rights in the House, but he can utilize a casting vote if there is a tie in adopting a bill, resolution, etc. Whenever the Lok Sabha is dissolved, the speaker remains in office until the newly elected Lok Sabha meets. The Speaker decides whether a bill is a money bill, and his decision in this question is final. His decision to accept motions, resolutions, bills, amendments, notifications of questions, etc., is final. He is not expected to give reasons for his decisions which cannot be questioned by any member.

In the absence of Speaker, Deputy Speaker will perform his duties, and he is elected by the members of Lok Sabha from among themselves. The Speaker's term runs from the day he or she is elected to the position until the first session of the new parliament begins. The speaker tenders his resignation just before the beginning of the first session of the new parliament. The early termination of the Speaker's tenure can be brought in by three factors.

a. If he ceases to be a member of the Lok Sabha.

b. If he resigns by writing to the deputy Speaker.

c. If a majority of Lok Sabha members pass a motion to dismiss him (14 days notice with 50 votes).

Whenever the house meets to remove the Speaker, he cannot preside over the sitting of the house. However he may take part in the proceedings and vote (not in case of equal vote).

Additional functions of the Speaker are

• He maintains order and decorum.

• To interpret the provisions of (a) the constitution, (b) Rules of Procedure and conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha, (c) the Parliamentary conventions within the house.

• He adjourns or suspends the meeting of the House.

• He allows a 'secret' sitting of the House.

• He decides the questions of disqualifications of a member of Lok Sabha.

• He acts as the ex-officio chairman of the Indian Parliamentary Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

• He appoints the chairman of all the Parliamentary Committees of Lok Sabha.

Protem Speaker

According to the constitution, the President may designate a member as the Speaker Protem, who is typically the most senior member, since the Speaker vacates his office when the new Lok Sabha convenes. The President himself administers oath of office to him. Before the first session of the newly elected Lok Sabha, the old Lok Sabha Speaker vacates his seat and the senior-most member of the present Lok Sabha is appointed by the President as the Protem Speaker. The Speaker Protem (Protem Speaker) is the person who presides over the first sitting of the Lok Sabha of the new Lok Sabha members. The Protem Speaker has all the powers of the Speaker. The Protem Speaker is the person who administers the oath to all the new Lok Sabha members. The President administers the oath to the Protem Speaker. The election of the Speaker is conducted by the Protem Speaker. The Protem Speaker's term of office shall be till the election of the new Speaker.

Deputy Speaker

The Deputy Speaker presides over the Lok Sabha in the absence of the Speaker. The Deputy Speaker is also elected from among the members of the Lok Sabha. The date of election of the Deputy Speaker is decided by the Speaker. The Deputy Speaker can preside over a joint session of both the Houses of Parliament in the absence of the Speaker. The Deputy Speaker is accountable to the House, not to the Speaker. A special power of the Deputy Speaker is that if he becomes a member of any parliamentary committee, he automatically becomes its chairman. In the presence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker acts like an ordinary member. The Deputy Speaker can be removed from office by a resolution passed by a majority of the members of the Lok Sabha. Notice of the resolution must be given to the Parliament 14 days before the motion is introduced. The Speaker submits his resignation to the Deputy Speaker. The Deputy Speaker submits his resignation to the Speaker. The First Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha is M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar.

Panel of Chairperson in Lok Sabha

The Speaker under the Rules of Lok Sabha nominates a panel of ten chairpersons. In the absence of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, any one of them may preside over the House. A member of this panel, however, cannot preside over the House when the Speaker's and Deputy Speaker's posts are vacant. In this case the President may appoint a person for presiding over the House.

Qualifications for a Member of Lok Sabha

• Must be a citizen of India

• The person must have completed 25 years of age

• Must possess such other qualifications as may be prescribed by Parliament

• The person must be a registered voter in any parliamentary constituency under the Representation of the People Act, 1951

• Only SC/ST candidates can contest from reserved SC/ST seats.

Election Process

The members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the people. Indian citizens who have completed 18 years of age are eligible to vote. Initially, the minimum voting age was 21. It was reduced to 18 by the 61st Amendment. There is no proportional representation in the Lok Sabha elections, but territorial representation. For the purpose of holding elections to the Lok Sabha, the country (or, in the case of a state assembly, the state) is divided into various constituencies of approximately equal population. One representative is elected from each constituency on the basis of universal adult suffrage. Under universal adult suffrage, each person's vote is of equal value. The seats in the Lok Sabha are determined on the basis of the 1971 census.

Term of the Lok Sabha

The term of the Lok Sabha is 5 years. The Lok Sabha can be dissolved before its term if the political parties or coalitions fail to form a government after the elections or if the Prime Minister advises the President to dissolve the Lok Sabha and hold fresh elections. The President has the power to dissolve the Lok Sabha. During the Emergency, the President has the power to extend the term of the Lok Sabha once for one year. However, this cannot continue for more than six months after the Emergency is lifted.

Casting vote

The Speaker does not normally vote on a bill introduced in Parliament or the Legislative Assembly. However, if there is a deadlock in the vote for and against the bill, the Speaker or the Speaker of the House may cast a vote to resolve the deadlock. Such a vote is called a casting vote.

Leader of the Lok Sabha

The leader of the Lok Sabha is the Prime Minister. However, if the Prime Minister is not a member of the Lok Sabha, he may choose one of the ministers to be the leader of the Lok Sabha.

Leader of the Opposition

The Leader of the Opposition shall be the leader of the largest opposition party. The party in question must have won 1/10 of the total seats. The position of the Leader of the Opposition is equivalent to that of a Cabinet Minister. The main role of the Leader of the Opposition is to constructively criticize the policies of the government and to raise an alternative government.

Whip

Although the posts of Leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition are not mentioned in the Indian Constitution, they are mentioned in the House Rules and the Parliamentary Act respectively. However, the whip is a post that is not mentioned in the Constitution and the House Rules or the Parliamentary Rules. All political parties, whether ruling or opposition, have the post of whip in Parliament. The whip is responsible for ensuring the presence of the party members and ensuring their support for or against a particular issue. The party whip is responsible for controlling and monitoring the conduct of party members in Parliament and prescribing punishment for those who violate it.

Disqualifications of a Member of Parliament

Central and state employees cannot contest (but this law does not apply to ministers and members of Parliament). People who are disqualified by a court and those with mental problems cannot contest. People who are bankrupt cannot contest. Anyone who is not an Indian citizen or has acquired foreign citizenship is not eligible to contest. Those who are disqualified under the Parliament Act also cannot contest.

Circumstances under which a Member of Parliament may resign

• If a person is elected to both Houses of Parliament, he must inform the authorities within 10 days of which House he wishes to continue in. Otherwise, he will lose his membership of the Rajya Sabha.

• If a sitting member of one House is elected to another House, he will lose his membership of the first House.

• If a person is elected to two seats in a House, he must inform them in which seat he wishes to continue. Otherwise, he will lose both his memberships.

• A person cannot be a member of Parliament and a State Legislative Assembly at the same time. If he is so elected, he will lose his membership of Parliament if he does not resign his seat in the State Legislative Assembly within 14 days.

• A member who becomes constitutionally disqualified will lose his membership of Parliament.

• If a member wishes to resign, he can resign from his position by writing a letter to the Chairman in the Rajya Sabha and the Speaker in the Lok Sabha.

• If a member of Parliament goes on leave for 60 consecutive days without giving any special notice in Parliament, his membership will be forfeited.

• If a member of Parliament is elected as the President, Vice President or Governor, his membership will be forfeited.

Sessions of Parliament

Usually, there are 3 sessions of Parliament in a year.

• Budget Session (February - May)

• Monsoon Session (July - September)

• Winter Session (November - December)

During this period, the House meets every day. A 'session' is the period from the first sitting of a House to its end. The period between the end of one session and the beginning of the next session is called Recess. Parliament must meet at least twice a year. The maximum period between two sessions of Parliament is 6 months. The President convenes the session of Parliament.