The Parliament – Presiding Officers of Rajya Sabha

• (Article 79 to 122 of Part V)
• Parliament is the legislative organ of the Union Government.
• Since, India has a Parliamentary system, hence Parliament occupies the central Position.

Presiding Officers of Parliament

• Each house has its own Presiding Officer in Parliament.
• In Lok Sabha, Speaker and Deputy Speaker and a panel of Chairpersons are present.
• In Rajya Sabha, Chairman and Deputy Chairman and a panel of Vice chairpersons is appointed.

Presiding Officers of Rajya Sabha

• Presiding officers of Rajya Sabha includes Chairman and Deputy Chairman. The Chairman nominates a panel of Vice-Chairpersons which in absence of Chairman and Deputy Chairman Can presides the House.

 

Chairman of Rajya Sabha

• • He is the presiding officer of Rajya Sabha.
  • The Vice President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. (When Vice president performs the duties and functions of President, he does not perform the duties of the office of Chairman of Rajya Sabha.)
  • He can be removed from his office only if he is removed from his office of Vice President.

 

Functions of Chairman of Rajya Sabha

• • • The Powers and Functions of Chairman of Rajya Sabha are SIMILAR to that of Lok Sabha Speaker.
    • However, Speaker has some special powers which are NOT enjoyed by the Chairman of Rajya Sabha –
      1. The Speaker decides whether a bill is a money bill or not and his decision on this question is final.
      2. The Speaker presides over a joint sitting of two Houses of Parliament.
      3. He is not the member of the House but can cast a vote in case of equality of votes.
      4. The Vice-President cannot preside over a sitting of the Rajya Sabha as its Chairman when a resolution for his removal is under consideration.
      5. The salaries and allowances of the Chairman are also fixed by the Parliament. They are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India and thus are not subject to the annual vote of Parliament.

 

Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha

• • The Deputy Chairman is elected by the Rajya Sabha itself from amongst its members.
  • In case of Vacancy of the office, Rajya Sabha elects another member to fill the vacancy.

 

Vacancy of the office

• • • The Deputy Chairman vacates his office in any of the following –
      1. if he ceases to be a member of the Rajya Sabha
      2. if he resigns by writing to the Chairman
      3. if he is removed by a resolution passed by a majority of all the members of the Rajya Sabha. Such a resolution can be moved only after giving 14 days’ advance notice.

 

Functions and Duties

• • • The Deputy Chairman performs duties of Chairman when the Vice President acts as a President or discharges function of President.
    • He also performs the duties in case of the Chairman is absent in the House.
    • He cannot vote on first instance but has a right to cast a vote in case of tie.
    • When the Chairman presides over the House, the Deputy Chairman is like any other ordinary member of the House. He can speak in the House, participate in its proceedings and vote on any question before the House.
    • His Salary and allowance are fixed by Parliament and are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.

 

Panel of Vice-Chairpersons of Rajya Sabha

• • The Chairman nominates from amongst the members a panel of vice-chairpersons.
  • Any one of them can preside over the House in the absence of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman. He has the same power as the Chairman while presiding the house.
  • It must be emphasised here that a member of the panel of vice-chairpersons cannot preside over the House, when the office of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman is vacant.
  • During such time, the Chairman’s duties are to be performed by such member of the House as the president may appoint for the purpose.

 

Leaders in Parliament

Leader of the House

• • • Leader of the house means the Prime Minister, if he is member of Lok Sabha or a minister who is a member of a Lok Sabha and is nominated by the Prime Minister to function as Leader of the House.
    • Rajya Sabha also has a Leader of the House, who is also nominated by the Prime Minister.
    • He is important functionary and exercises direct influence on the conduct of business of the Houses.

 

Leader of the Opposition

• • • The leader of the largest Opposition party having not less than one-tenth seats of the total strength of the House is recognised as the leader of the Opposition in that House.
    • His main functions are to provide a constructive criticism of the policies of the government and to provide an alternative government.
    • The leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were accorded statutory recognition in 1977. They are entitled to the salary, allowance and other facilities equivalent to that of Cabinet Minister.

 

Whip

• • • Every political party, whether ruling or Opposition has its own whip in the Parliament.
    • He is appointed by the political party to serve as an assistant floor leader.
    • 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 regulates and monitors their behaviour in the Parliament.
    • The members are supposed to follow the directives given by the whip. Otherwise, disciplinary action can be taken.

It is important to mention that the Office of the leader of the House and the leader of the opposition is not mentioned in the Constitution of India but is mentioned in the Rules of the House and Parliamentary Statute respectively.

The Office of Whip is not mentioned in either and is based on the conventions of the Parliamentary government.

 

So, this was all about the Presiding officers of Rajya Sabha (Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Panel of Vice-Chairpersons).

In next Post (Click Here), we will discuss about the Presiding officers of Lok Sabha (Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Panel of Chairpersons and Speaker Pro Tem).