How and Why – Important for UPSC Exam – Exam Ki Tayari

Why in the news?

The government has nominated four people of eminence to the Rajya Sabha, including former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Special Public Prosecutor in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks case Ujjwal Nikam, Kerala BJP leader C Sadanandan Master, and historian Meenakshi Jain. In this context, let’s know who and how gets nominated for the Rajya Sabha. Why does the Rajya Sabha have a ‘nominated’ MP?

Key Takeaways :

1. “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of article 80 of the Constitution of India, read with clause (3) of that article, the President is pleased to nominate to the Council of States the following persons to fill the vacancies caused due to retirement of nominated members:- Shri Ujjwal Deorao Nikam, Shri C. Sadanandan Master, Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Dr. Meenakshi Jain,” the Union Home Ministry said in a notification late Saturday.

Retired diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla, prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, historian Meenakshi Jain, and BJP leader C Sadanandan Master will join the Rajya Sabha.

2. Notably, Article 80 of the Constitution (“Composition of the Council of States”) provides provisions on nominated members of the upper house. It says, “The Council of States shall consist of:

(a) twelve members to be nominated by the President in accordance with the provisions of clause (3);

(b) not more than two hundred and thirty-eight representatives of the States and of the Union territories.”

Clause 3 of the article layer down the qualifications for the appointment:

“The members to be nominated by the President…shall consist of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as the following, namely — Literature, science, art and social service.”

3. Nominated member can join a political party within six months of taking his/ her seat in the House, They enjoy all the powers and privileges to which the elected Members of Parliament are entitled. They can take part in the proceedings of the House in the normal manner.

4. Nominated members are not allowed to vote in the election of the President. They do have the right to vote in the election of the Vice-President, however.

Why is there a provision for nominated seats in the Rajya Sabha?

5. Pitching for a provision in the Constitution to allow eminent persons to be nominated to the Council of States, N Gopalaswami Ayyangar, who was part of the Constitution Drafting Committee, said: “We also give an opportunity, perhaps, to seasoned people who may not be in the thickest of the political fray, but who might be willing to participate in the debate with an amount of learning and importance which we do not ordinarily associate with the House of the People (Lok Sabha).”

6. However, over time, the high ideal of the nomination came to be eroded. Ruling dispensations have repeatedly used the nominated category to shore up their numbers in the House, to dispense favours, and to get their preferred individuals into Parliament.

Why is numerical strength in Rajya Sabha important beyond voting on Bills?

7. Rajya Sabha has a limited role in the case of Money Bills. It cannot amend a Money Bill, but can recommend amendments within a stipulated time, and Lok Sabha may either accept or reject all or any of these.

8. However, Rajya Sabha enjoys some special powers. If it passes a resolution by a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting, saying that it is “necessary or expedient in the national interest” that Parliament should make a law on a matter enumerated in the State List, Parliament becomes empowered to make a law on the subject. Such a resolution remains in force for a maximum of one year but this period can be extended by one year at a time by passing a similar resolution.

9. A similar route can be adopted for recommending creation of one or more All India Services common to the Union and the states. Parliament becomes empowered to create such services.

10. Also, Rajya Sabha has a role to play if the President, as empowered by the Constitution, issues proclamations in the event of national emergency, in the event of failure of constitutional machinery in a State, or in the case of financial emergency”.  Every such proclamation has to be approved by both Houses of Parliament within a stipulated period.

11. Under certain circumstances, however, Rajya Sabha enjoys special powers. If a proclamation is issued at a time when Lok Sabha has been dissolved or the dissolution of Lok Sabha takes place within the period allowed for its approval, then the proclamation remains effective, if the resolution approving it is passed by Rajya Sabha within the period specified under Articles 352, 356 and 360 of the Constitution.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: How are Rajya Sabha MPs elected?

1. Rajya Sabha is a permanent House and cannot be dissolved. To ensure continuity, one-third of its members retire after every second year, under Article 83(1) of the Constitution, and “biennial elections” are held to fill these vacancies. The term of a member is six years.

2. Out of the 245 members, 12 are nominated by the President and 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry. Vacancies arising due to resignation, death or disqualification are filled up through bypolls, and those elected serve out the remainder of their predecessors’ term.

3. The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution provides for allocation of Rajya Sabha seats to the states and Union Territories, on the basis of the population of each state.

4. Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by MLAs through an indirect election. Article 80(4) provides that members shall be elected by the elected members of state Assemblies through a system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.

5. The number of votes a candidate requires depends on the number of vacancies and the strength of the House. If there is only one vacancy, the required quota under the Election Commission’s Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, is calculated by taking the number of votes polled, divided it by 2, and adding 1. For example, if 100 votes are polled in an Assembly, the Rajya Sabha candidate would need:

100/2 + 1 = 51 votes

6. If there is more than one vacancy, the equation is based on an assigned value of 100 for every first-preference vote. The values of the votes credited to all candidates are totalled. The total is divided by 1 more than the number of vacancies, and 1 is added to this quotient.

For example, if 100 members of an Assembly vote for 3 Rajya Sabha vacancies, the required quota by any candidate would be

(100 × 100)/(3 + 1) + 1 = 2501

If for any seat, candidates fail to get the specified number, the second-preference votes will be taken into account, but with a lower value.

Post Read Questions

(1) Consider the following statements with reference to the nominated members of Rajya Sabha:

1. They enjoy all the powers and privileges to which the elected Members of Parliament are entitled.

2. They are not allowed to vote in the election of the President.

3. They do have the right to vote in the election of the Vice-President.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

(2) Rajya Sabha has equal powers with Lok Sabha in: (UPSC CSE 2020)

(a) the matter of creating new All India Services

(b) amending the Constitution

(c) the removal of the government

(d) making cut motion

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