What is the Point of the Rajya Sabha?

The Rajya Sabha. The upper house of the parliament, something most of us know little about. But as you will learn in this episode, is very important to how our democracy functions.

You’ve often heard that the Rajya Sabha “clogs progress” or that it creates a hurdle for Lok Sabha, and therefore the country. But there is only one way to find out if that’s true — We start by answering a simple question – “What’s the point of the Rajya Sabha?”

Show Notes

All clips and voices used in this podcast are owned by the original creators

Links to clips used in this episode —

• Sachin Tendulakar nominated for a Rajya Sabha Seat – NDTV – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1JtEnGWwPc

Full Transcript of Episode 16

[We hear a news clip about Sachin Tendulkar’s nomination for a Rajya Sabha seat]

Yes, you heard that right — Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian Parliament! 

He’s not the only one. Over the years, Javed Akhtar, Mary Kom, Rekha and many others artists and sports persons have been members of the Indian Parliament. Kaise?

That brings me to today’s episode! The Rajya Sabha. The upper house of the parliament, something most of us know little about. But as you will learn today, is very important to how our democracy functions.

Doston, there are many impressions about the Rajya Sabha that you must have heard. Rajya Sabha “clogs progress”. It creates a hurdle for Lok Sabha — these are some of the things that politicians have said before. 

Only one way to know if this is true — to find out what the Rajya Sabha does and why it matters. I’ll answer a simple question for you today: What’s the point of a Rajya Sabha? 

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The Rajya Sabha has a few names — The Council of States. The Second Chamber. The Upper House. All of these names have a story behind them! Let’s find out.

The Rajya Sabha is a house of the Indian Parliament with a capacity of 250 members. Presently, there are 245 members in the Rajya Sabha. 233 of these members are elected by Members of Legislative Assembly of the different states and union territories. And the remaining twelve members are selected directly by the President. These are professionals in the field of sports, arts, law, and more. And that is why you heard about Sachin Tendulkar at the beginning of this episode.

Together, the members of the Rajya Sabha have varied duties. Members introduce bills related to social, political, and environmental issues in the country. They also review bills that have been passed in the Lok Sabha. The members discuss, debate and make changes to such bills. These bills then go on to become laws, if approved. 

The chairman of a Rajya Sabha is the Vice- President of India.

So, what’s different about the Rajya Sabha? Lok Sabha also passes bills and makes laws. 

The Rajya Sabha is the Second Chamber in the Indian Parliament. When we talk about governance (neeti), you could say a second chamber is a body of members that give a second opinion on laws and decisions made by the other house. 

Kaise? 

Members of the Rajya Sabha debate these laws and introduce amendments. Then, they either pass or reject the bill – matlab, the legislation (kanoon). Because members of the Rajya Sabha are often from different fields apart from politics, they bring new perspectives  or points of view to debates. Is liye, 12 seats of the Rajya Sabha are reserved for candidates like Sachin Tendulkar or Zakir Hussain. 

This structure — where two houses of a parliament make decisions together — is called bicameralism (bi-camera-li-sm). Waise, this form of parliament started in England, but today it’s followed in many countries, including Australia, Germany, Canada, Brazil. 

Actually, the Rajya Sabha was called the Council of States (to be said in English) until 1954. This is because it was formed as a house that represents the States and Union Territories of India. Most members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the Members of the State Legislative Assemblies. So, the members of the Rajya Sabha have special powers that let them make laws for states. 

Now, you may ask why the states and union territories get special representation in the Parliament. 

Well, that’s because India has a Federal Structure. Matlab, the constitution of India provides that the states and union territories in India also have autonomy to make laws in their own regions. Both the state and the centre are given equal importance. So, it’s essential that the states’ interests are represented in the Parliament. 

So, The Rajya Sabha, or the Council of States, upholds this element of Federalism (kaayam rakhti hai). 

And as far as why Rajya Sabha is called the Upper House and Lok Sabha is called the lower house is concerned, these are just terms taken from the English parliamentary system. There is no hierarchy between the two houses of the Indian parliament!

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The idea of the Rajya Sabha wasn’t created when the constitution was being written. In fact, it goes back to ancient India.

The idea of a second chamber is having a group of members that are consulted (salah lena) to review laws that the government makes. This concept of a “group of ministers”, similar to the Upper House, has existed since the rule of Chandragupta Maurya. In the Arthashastra, Kautilya says that at the time of an emergency, a king shall call his group of ministers.

The Rigveda and the Atharvaveda also mention two assemblies in ancient Indian kingdoms – Samiti and Sabha. The Samiti was an assembly that elected the King and discussed matters of public affairs. The Sabha, on the other hand, was a council of noble and wealthy members. They made decisions on matters of society and justice. The Sabha was less political than the Samiti. The members were greatly respected, and this assembly was also the Council of Elders. This was the second chamber of Ancient India. 

So, the idea of a second chamber or bicameralism has always been around. 

During the British Raj, the idea of a formal assembly like Rajya Sabha in the government was introduced in the Montague-Chelmsford ( मोंटेग्यु चैम्सफोर्ड )Report of 1919.  This report suggested that the British Government should introduce a second chamber in India. You see, before this in the late 1800s, governance in British India was led by the Governer-General Council — which was a group of members consisting of the Governer-General of India and three or four counsellors. That’s all! This group increased to six more members, but not more than that. The Montague-Chelmsford report suggested a dramatic change. It was accepted by the British rulers. 

So, Government of India Act of 1919 was enacted and the British Indian government now had two chambers: A Council of States with 60 members and the House of Assembly with 145 members. 

When it was time to draw up the constitution for a newly formed India, a committee led by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru drew up a report for the constituent assembly. The report suggested that there should be two houses in the new Indian Parliament. This raised questions in the Assembly. Shri Mohd. Tahir pointed out that this is simply an element of the British structure — does this mean India needs it too?

A Second Chamber like Rajya Sabha will only slow down progress, was the argument.  

Other members, like Shri Gopalaswami Ayyangar (गोपालस्वामी अय्यंगार) argued that a Second Chamber is necessary to review laws that might have been drafted in haste (jaldi mein). Discussion and debate in a democracy is important and the Rajya Sabha will only make it stronger. The assembly decided to make some amendments to Pt. Nehru’s report, so that the second chamber of India could benefit governance. It was decided that the members will have a tenure of 6 years, with one-third of the members retiring every alternate year. 

The age of the member should be no less than 30. When it was decided that the Member of Rajya Sabha should have no other qualification except being an Indian Citizen, President Rajendra Prasad found it quite absurd! He said Judges of the Supreme Court are required to have high qualifications. But if members of the Rajya Sabha, with no qualifications, draft nonsensical laws, then the wisest of all Judges will have trouble interpreting it!

Dr. Prasad’s concern was heard but not accepted. Without further discussion, the second chamber was formed with amendments suggested by all the members. 

The first sitting of the Rajya Sabha was on 13th May, 1952, under the chairmanship Dr. S Radhakrishnan. In the same year, the Rajya Sabha passed its first bill — the Indian Tariff Second Amendment Bill.

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Doston, over the years, the Rajya Sabha has passed important bills in the house. Let me give some examples.

In 1955, the Rajya Sabha passed a bill called the Hindu Marriage and Divorce Bill. Before this, as a Hindu, you couldn’t get a divorce from your husband or wife. In 2012, it passed the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence act. So, what I mean to say is that Rajya Sabha has often taken the initiative to introduce bills that have tackled social issues.

At the same time, the Rajya Sabha has amended important bills introduced in the Lok Sabha. Like the Prevention of Corruption Bill of 1988. In 2018, the Rajya Sabha made amendments to this bill, which made giving bribes to public servants an offence. It made the definition of penalties clear, and added a procedure to seize the properties of corrupt public servants.

As a house of the Parliament, the most important function of the Rajya Sabha is to pass legislation. This is done by introducing, amending and passing bills. You must have heard it on the news, too. 

[We hear a couple of news clips about bills being passed in the Rajya Sabha]

Now, a bill is a draft proposal for a law. It can be introduced in either of the two houses. Once it’s passed in a house, it goes to the other one for approval. But there’s an exception: money bills! 

Any bills that have to do with taxation and expenditure of the government, can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha. The bill is sent to the Rajya Sabha for recommendations but it is passed regardless of Rajya Sabha’s approval. You could probably say this is one way that Lok Sabha has more power than the Rajya Sabha. 

What are the other kinds of bills? You could introduce an ordinary bill, a financial bill or a bill to amend the constitution. A bill that is raised by any MP who is not a minister is called a Private Member Bill. The Rajya Sabha has a special session to attend to Private Member Bills — since these may concern non-political issued. 

The bills passed in the Rajya Sabha have often been related to social, environmental, medical and educational issues.

The Rajya Sabha has also passed many bills introduced in the Lok Sabha.In 2019, the citizenship Amendment Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 9th. It moved on to the Rajya Sabha — where it was debated on for 9 hours. On December 11, the bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha. 

But there have been examples where a Bill introduced in Lok Sabha was rejected in the Rajya Sabha. The Constitution Twenty-Fourth Amendmendment Bill, 1970, affected the rights of former Indian states. It was introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha, but negatived by the Rajya Sabha. This is why Rajya Sabha is also called the “revising chamber”. It also offers amendments to bills passed by Lok Sabha. The Dowry Prohibition Bill was a legislation in which the Rajya Sabha’s insistence on its amendments led to the convening of a Joint Sitting of the two Houses. In that sitting, one of the amendments suggested by the Rajya Sabha was adopted without a division. 

There is another name for the Rajya Sabha. It is called a “deliberative chamber” (डेलीब्रेटिव चैम्बर ). The Rajya Sabha was written into the constitution as a place for debate and discussion — like we already know! So, every bill or motion is debated upon. The members of the Rajya Sabha make speeches in favour or against the bills. And just like any other debate, there is often uproar from the opposition. 

[We hear the voices of MPs creating uproar in the house and the Speaker mediating]

This was the uproar from the opposition before Sachin Tendulkar’s debut speech in the Rajya Sabha on Right to Play. While opposition and objection is allowed in the Rajya Sabha, there are consequences for members if they cross a line. 

In 1976, Subramaniam Swamy was expelled from the Rajya Sabha after a committee found that his conduct was derogatory (apmaan pahuchaya) to the members of the Rajya Sabha.In 2005, Dr. Chhatrapal Singh was expelled after it was discovered that he had accepted money to ask questions in the Rajya Sabha. 

Let’s talk about what else happens inside the Rajya Sabha.

The Rajya Sabha conducts something called the ‘Question Hour’. During this time, the members of the Sabha ask ministers questions about – administration, the demands of the citizens of the country, governance. They may raise a particular issue. The Question hour is also conducted in the Lok Sabha. This is an interesting section of the proceedings — because question hour is Rajya Sabha has actually brought out important matters. The license scam of Tulmohan(तुलमोहन) Ram was first brought up in the question hour. Cases of corruption related to Chief Ministers and business houses have also gone to the court after being introduced in the Question Hour. 

Kuch aise hi, the members also practice “Calling Attention” in the Parliament. This is actually a practice that originated in India! A member of the Rajya Sabha, with permission from the Chair, ‘calls the attention’ of a minister and asks him to comment on an urgent public matter. This sometimes gets extended into a debate. 

There are a few special powers that the Rajya Sabha has. Did you know, the Parliament cannot make any changes to laws on the State list without approval from the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha has the power to make laws for the states — it is the Council of States, after all. 

Has this ever happened? Yes, 1986, under the powers conferred by the article 249, the Rajya Sabha passed a resolution which empowered the parliament to make special laws for terrorism in Punjab.

The Rajya Sabha can also approve the President’s rule in a state if the Lok Sabha is dissolved. This has happened twice – once in 1977 in Nagaland and Tamil Nadu. The second time was in 1991, in Haryana

The Rajya Sabha also has the power to remove a Judge. Lastly – the Rajya Sabha can create a new All-India-Services role!

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Doston, we’ve talked about what happens inside the Rajya Sabha. Now let’s talk about how a member of Rajya Sabha is elected?

As we know, 12 members are nominated by the President. The rest of the members are representatives of the states and union territories. However, the way that they’re elected by the Members of the Legislative Assembly is quite interesting.

Sabse pehle toh – who is qualified to be a member of the Rajya Sabha? Any Indian citizen who resides in India, is 30 years or older is qualified to be a Member of the Rajya Sabha. 

The Rajya Sabha is called a “Permanent House”. Remember the amendments made by constituent assembly? I’ll remind you once again: the entire house is never dissolved at once (nirantar jaari rehta hai). Every member of the parliament has a term of 6 years. Every second year, one-third of the house retires, and elections are held. 

The process of electing a member of the Rajya Sabha is not the same as how we, the citizens, vote in the Lok Sabha elections — which is done by the First Past the Post system.

The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by a method called Proportional Representation through a single transferable vote. I’ve discussed this in detail in another episode of this podcast where I talk about the First past the post system of election. Make sure you listen to it! 

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There is also a cosmetic difference between the two Indian houses of the parliament. Did you know that the Lok Sabha carpet is green in colour — to signify (darshane ke liye) that India is an agricultural land. On the other hand, the carpet in the Rajya Sabha is red as a symbol of royalty and the sacrifice of our freedom fighters. 

There is no doubt that the Rajya Sabha has been an important and respected element of the Indian parliament. 

But the question is: has Rajya Sabha lived up to its ideals (adarsh)?

Many critics believe that Rajya Sabha works in favour of the agenda of the political party which is in the majority, in the house. The Second Chamber was built as a place where laws could be made and debated objectively (nishpaksh tareeke se). However, decisions of the Rajya Sabha have been similar to Lok Sabha. The attendance in the Rajya Sabha, too, has been low. Earlier this year, Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu reprimanded the house — there were not enough MPs even in the budget sessions!

The nominated members who we talked about have also been blamed for low attendance in the past. Sachin Tendulkar and Rekha, in particular have been criticised. 

[We hear news clips about Sachin Tendulkar and Rekha’s absence in the Rajya Sabha]

Sachin attended only 29 of the 400 days of session, and Rekha attended only 18. Public criticism arose when it was found that Sachin was given a salary of 86 lakh rupees, and Rekha was given 99 lakh rupees! 

I’ve been telling about how Rajya Sabha is a Council of States. So, you might be surprised to know that members of the Rajya Sabha do not have to be residents (nivasi) of a state to represent it in the house. Haan, before there was a rule that allowed only residents of a state to represent it in the Rajya Sabha — this was called the domicile (डोमिसैल) clause. However, in 2003, the Supreme Court removed this clause. Now, any member can represent a state.

I’m sure you can imagine that people were not happy with this new rule. While this opened up more opportunities for politicians to be members of the parliament, it raised an important question: how will an MP represent a state if he has never lived there? This has also been an important criticism of the Rajya Sabha. 

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I’m wondering — have we answered the question we asked in the beginning? Some people say that the Rajya Sabha is unnecessary – is this true? Let me put another question to you:

What if there was no Rajya Sabha in India?

Only the Lok Sabha would make the laws. Since the Lok Sabha has a majority of the ruling party, would the opposition be able to stop any laws? Make any amendments? 

Probably not.

In the past, the Rajya Sabha has provided resistance (virodh) against the majority (bahumat) of the Lok Sabha. Especially during the Janata regime and UPA rule in the 1970s and early 2000s.  

This sort of resistance made sure that the ruling party had to engage with opposing perspectives. 

In 2015, the Lok Sabha passed the largely opposed Land Acquisition Amendment Bill. This bill was accused of being “anti-poor” and “anti-farmer.”

[We hear the bill being passed in the Lok Sabha]

However, the Rajya Sabha proposed certain changes to it, and has not passed the bill yet. 

This example is to remind you of the role of Rajya Sabha in a government where the ruling party has a majority. It is the duty of the house to provide opposition, debate and representation of the states.

And that is the point of the Rajya Sabha.

That’s all I have for you today, folks! As always, I hope I’m leaving you with a better understanding of how India works, and a curiosity to learn more. 

I’ll be back next week with a new episode of Maha Bharat!