Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the Parliament and it is headed by the President of India. It is considered as the Supreme legislative power of the country where the decisions regarding budget and all other important decisions are taken. The main power of the Rajya Sabha is the protection of rights of the states against the Union. The Rajya Sabha is located in the Parliament in Delhi and every regulation is made in the Rajya Sabha. There are certain unknown facts about the Rajya Sabha which is also known to the members who sit in the Parliament.
The top facts are listed as under
15. Views of the critics present in Rajya Sabha
The critics present in the Rajya Sabha feel that the House is more inclined towards giving an objective view to all the issues being presented in the Parliament house. The debates held on the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha goes on for about 2 days which leads to reduction of the huge time and energy. The main role of the Rajya Sabha is to examine the policies being presented and which cannot be looked forward by Lok Sabha.
14. Quorum present
There has to be at least one tenth of the members present in the Rajya Sabha for the discussions to be held. If there is no presence of Quorum, then the Chairman of the meeting can adjourn the meeting till the time the Quorum is present in the meeting again. Quorum is a bigger necessity in the Rajya Sabha.
13. Procedure of questions being decided in the House
There is a debate in the Rajya Sabha where many questions are put forward. All of the questions are being discussed and answered according to the absolute majority of the members. The members present should answer and vote which are taken into consideration. Only the vote of the Chairman is not taken except in case of ties in the voting procedure.
12. Increase in the salaries of the M.P’s from August 2010
From 28 August, 2010, there has been a substantial hike in the salaries of the M.P.s which have increased a threefold from Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 50,000. There has been a doubling of key allowance to Rs. 40,000 each. There have also been some changes in the payment of the fees according to Sanjay Nirupam. There is a principle of No Work no pay in the Rajya Sabha and the members have to strictly adhere to the rules. The daily proceedings are stopped when house proceedings are disrupted.
11. The salaries and allowance paid to Chairman and Deputy Chairman
The salaries of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman are kept in par with the speaker of the Lok Sabha and all of the salaries and allowances are determined by the Parliament itself. From August 4, 1998, the salary of the Chairman has increased to Rs. 40,000 and then there has been another hike in the salary from January 10, 2010 when the Union Cabinet planned to raise the bar of salary to Rs. 85,000 p.m.
10. Removal of Vice President from the Rajya Sabha
The Vice President of the Rajya Sabha can be removed only with a majority of votes by the members and has to be agreed in the Lok Sabha. The President cannot reside in when a form is under consideration for the removal of the Vice President. The President does not have the right to cast his vote but only can be present in the discussions of the Rajya Sabha.
9. The information about Deputy Chairman
Though the importance of the President is more in Rajya Sabha, but in absence of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman is eligible to take all the decisions and preside over the meetings. If the Deputy Chairman plans of resigning from his post, then he must give a letter in writing about his resignation and a resolution has to be passed within a period of 14 days which has to be accepted by the majority of members.
8. Information about the Chairman of the House
The Chairman of the House looks after all the decisions of the House and he must recognise all the members when they rise to speak in the Rajya Sabha. He puts all the questions in the House and then announces all the results. The Chairman has to be elected within a period of six months when there is a vacancy in the Chairman post. Till the vacancy of the President, the Vice President can take hold of the proceedings of the House.
7. Procedure in which a member vacates a seat
There are some rules that have to be followed by a member. If a member is selected in both of the Houses, then he has to vacate from one House. If he is elected in the Parliament and also in the State Legislature then, he should resign from the State Legislature in that case. In any disqualifications in Article 102, he must vacate his seat.
6. The time period of the House
The Rajya Sabha is considered as a permanent house and there is no change in that. One third of the members retire after every 2 years.
5. Qualifications to be a member
The member should be a citizen of India and he should not be more than 30 years of age. The member should not be of unsound mind when he is giving decisions in the Rajya Sabha.
4. Bills that are passed in the Rajya Sabha
The main part of the upper Parliament is the presentation of the finance bill and also the Budget that are presented by the Finance Minister every year. Apart from these bills, other important bills are also passed in the Rajya Sabha.
3. Broadcast in the own channel
All of the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha are broadcasted in the channel that is being owned by the Rajya Sabha. It provides people with a live coverage of all the daily proceedings of the
Rajya Sabha. The channel can be broadcasted in www.rstv.nic.in and its headquarters are in the premises itself.
2. Recommendations of the Finance bill
In the Rajya Sabha, only the matters related to the financial bill can be discussed in the Rajya Sabha. The bill will be passed or not is always decided in the Lok Sabha and the decision depends on them.
1. Election of the members
The total members in the Rajya Sabha are 250 and they are elected according to their achievements in the field of literature, science and arts.
These are the top facts about Rajya Sabha. Do give a visit to the Parliament to get a view of the proceedings.
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