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Legislature Assignment and Presentation

The veriety of terms such as 'assembly', 'congress', or 'parliament' that are often used
interchangeably with the terms 'legislature' increases the uncertainty about the roles and
relatives powers of legitimate. The function of government begins by law-making and is
followed up by law-enforcement and adjudication functions.
‘Legg’ means law and ‘lature’ the place and etymologically, Legislature means a place for
law-making. Another term, which is used as a synonym of Legislature, is ‘Parliament.’ This word
stands derived from the French word ‘Parley’ which means to ‘talk’ or to discuss and deliberate.
Combining the two views, we can say Legislature or Parliament is that branch of government
which performs the function of law making through deliberations. It is the assembly of the
elected representatives of the people and represents national public opinion and power of the
people.
Assembly: A legislative body; specifically, the lower house of a legislature.
Legislature: A body of persons having the power to legislate.
Parliament: The supreme legislative body of a usually major political unit that is a continuing
institution comprising a series of individual assemblages.
Roles of a Legislature:
Legislature perform will vary significantly according to the broader political environment in which
they exist, their activities can be loosely organized into three cat- egories:
(1) linkage and representation,
(2) oversight and control, and
(3) policy-making.
The institutional autonomy of the legislature from the executive branch and the individual
autonomy of its members from the Political Parties are the most fundamental variables affecting
the policy influence of the legislature.
Institutional autonomy is largely dependent on the formal Political structures. In fused-powers
systems in which the legislature selects the executive the two branches are mutually dependent
and the institutional autonomy of the legislature is reduced. In the separation of powers system
the legislature and the executive are both selected by the voters and the institutional autonomy
of the legislature is increased.
The autonomy of the legislature is the function of their dependence on Political parties to
achieve their electoral and policy goals.
The ability of the legislature to independently affect policy outcomes does have the potential to
change the character of the political system as a whole by shifting the balance of power
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between the exec- utive and legislative branches, and this carries with it potentially significant
repercussions.
Functions of a Legislature:

● Law-making Functions:
◆ The first and foremost function of a legislature is to legislate i.e. to make laws. It
is the legislature which formulates the will of the state into laws and gives it a
legal character. Legislature transforms the demands of the people into
authoritative laws/statutes.
● Deliberative Functions:
◆ To deliberate upon matters of national importance, public issues, problems and
needs is an important function of a legislature. Through this function, the
legislature reflects the public opinion over various issues. The debates held in the
legislature have a great educative value for the people.
● Custodian of National Finances:
◆ A near universal rule is that “the legislature of the state is the custodian of the
national purse.” It holds the purse of the nation and controls the finances. No
money can be raised or spent by the executive without the approval of the
legislature. Each year the executive has to prepare and get passed from the
legislature the budget for the coming financial year. In the budget, the executive
has to place the account of the actual income and expenditure of the previous
year and estimated income and expenditure for the New Year.
● Control over the Executive:
◆ In a parliamentary system of government, like the one which is at work in India,
for all its actions, decisions, and policies, the executive is collectively responsible
before the legislature. The legislature has the power to remove the executive by
passing a vote of no-confidence or by rejecting a policy or budget or law of the
executive.
● In the Parliamentary form of government the Prime Minister and all other
ministers are essentially the members of the legislature. They are bound
by the rules and procedures of the Parliament.
● In a Presidential form of government, like in the USA, the legislature
exercises some checks over the executive. It can appoint investigation
committees to probe the functioning of government departments.
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● Constituent Functions:
◆ It has the power to amend the constitution. For this purpose the legislature has to
pass special laws, called amendments, in accordance with the procedure laid
down in the Constitution. In some states the requirement is that the legislature
must pass the amendment with 2/3rd or 3/4th or an absolute majority of votes.
● Electoral Functions:
◆ A legislature usually performs some electoral functions. The two houses of the
Indian Parliament elect the Vice-President. All elected MPs and MLAs form the
Electoral College which elects the President of India.
● Judicial Functions:
◆ the legislature is assigned to act as a court of impeachment i.e. as an
investigating court for trying high public officials on charges of treason,
misdemeanor and high crimes and remove them from office. In India, the Union
Parliament can impeach the President. It has also the power to pass a resolution
for the removal of Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Court’s on the
ground of misbehavior or incapacity.
● Ventilation of Grievances:
◆ A legislature acts as the highest forum for ventilation of public grievances against
the executive. The legislature acts as the national forum for expressing public
opinion, public grievances and public aspirations. Parliamentary debates and
discussions throw a flood light over various issues of public importance.
● Miscellaneous Functions:
◆ Some legislatures are assigned specific executive tasks. For example, the US
Senate (Upper House of US Legislature) has the power to confirm or reject the
major appointments made by the US President. Likewise, it enjoys the power to
ratify or reject treaties made by the US President. In the US Constitution, the
Congress (Legislature) enjoys the power to declare war.
◆ In India, the Rajya Sabha has been given the power to establish or eliminate any
All India Service. Legislatures also perform the function of approving or rejecting
or amending all the policies and plans made by the executive.
Types of Legislature: Bicameral and Unicameral Legislatures:
A modern legislature is either Bicameral or Unicameral. Bicameralism means a legislature with
two chambers while unicameralism means a legislature with a single chamber. Where the
legislature is bicameral, “the first house is usually called the lower house, and the second house
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is called the upper house. India, USA, UK, France, Russia, Switzerland, Australia and a large
number of other states have bicameral legislatures. 22 states of India have bicameral
legislatures. The unicameral legislatures are working in China, New Zealand, Zimbabwe,
Turkey, Portugal and several other states. In India, 6 states and 2 Union Territories have
unicameral legislatures.
Arguments in Favour of a Bi-cameral
1. Second Chamber is a Safeguard against the Despotism of a Single Chamber:
a. The second chamber of a legislature is essential for preventing the first house
from becoming arbitrary and despotic. A single chamber with all the legislative
power can become corrupt and despotic.
2. Second Chamber is essential for preventing Hasty:
a. With a view to satisfy mass passions and demands, the single chamber can
commit the mistake of passing ill-considered measures in a haste, which can
subsequently be a source of big harm to the national interests. The second
chamber prevents or at least considerably limits such chances. It exercises a
checking and modifying influence on the bill passed by the first house.
3. Second Chamber acts as a Revising Chamber:
a. The legislative work in the modern welfare state has become highly complex and
technical. It demands a deep and careful examination of all aspects of the
measures which are to be enacted into laws. The second chamber performs the
role of a reviser.
4. Second Chamber Lessens the Burden of the First House:
a. The emergence of the welfare state has produced a manifold increase in the
scope of law-making. Under the circumstances, a legislature with a single
chamber can fail to effectively pass all the legislative work. The second house is
needed for sharing the legislative work.
5. Two Houses Better Represent Public Opinion:
a. The two houses can together correctly act as the barometer of public opinion.
The second house chosen at a different time can help the legislature in
overcoming the above defect.
6. Essential for a Federation:
a. A bi-cameral legislature is considered essential for a federal system. In such a
system, the lower house gives representation to the people of the state as a
whole and the upper house gives representation to the units of the federation.
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7. Second Chamber is a Source of Stability:

a. The second chamber can be given a longer and continuous term for securing
stability. The lower house, being the representative of the people has to be given
a shorter tenure. As against this, the second chamber can be given a longer
tenure and a permanent or quasi-permanent character for ensuring some
stability.
Arguments against Bicameral Legislature or Arguments in favour of Unicameral
Legislature:
The critics of bi-cameralism and supporters of unicameralism, however, reject the thesis that a
second chamber is essential. They oppose it as a superfluous chamber which always results in
more disadvantages than advantages.
1. Two Chambers Confuse Public Opinion:
a. The critics argue that public opinion is one and can be represented by a single
chamber. Sovereignty is one. People are sovereign. Their will is one and cannot
be divided. They are best represented by a single chamber. Two chambers
confuse public opinion, particularly when one chamber disagrees with the second
chamber.
2. Second chamber is either Mischievous or Superfluous:
a. Abbie Sieyes holds that the second chamber is either mischievous or
superfluous. If the second chamber dissents from the first, it is mischievous; if it
agrees with it, it is superfluous.
3. No Law is passed in a Hurry:
a. In the prevailing system of law-making in which a bill has to go through several
stages before getting a place in the statutes book, there is no need for a second
house.
4. Source of Delay in Legislation:
a. The second chamber is always a source of unwanted delay. A bill has to pass
through several stages in the first house before getting passed. When it goes to
the second house, it has to again pass through a similar process. It causes
unwanted and harmful delay. In this process, the legislation gets unnecessarily
delayed.
5. Revision of the Bill by Second House is Unnecessary and Useless:
a. The revision is unnecessary because the bill is revised thrice by the first house
before it is passed;
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b. Since all discussions in the second house too are held on party lines, no really
objective or additional revision is done during the discussions. As such, there is
neither the need for nor any use of the so-called revision done by the second
house.
6. The Second Chamber is not in a position to check the Despotism of the First House:
a. The opponents of bi-cameralism hold that in actual practice, the second chamber
is never in a position to check the so-called despotism of the first chamber. The
Indian Rajya Sabha can only delay a money bill for 14 days only and an ordinary
bill for a little longer duration.
7. Special Interests can be represented in the First House:
a. The supporters of unicameral legislatures advocate that the special interests of
minorities and weaker sections of society can be given representation in the
lower house without any loss. This can be done without disturbing the nature and
character of the membership of the house as determined by the people through
elections.
8. Second Chamber is not essential for a Federation:
a. The importance of the second chamber as the representative of the units of a
federation has also lost its relevance because of the role of political parties in the
political system. Political parties now dominate the entire political life of every
state—federal as well as unitary. Since every election is fought on a party basis,
the second chamber too represents party interests and not the units of the
federation.
However for small states and for the member units (provinces or states) of a federation,
unicameral legislatures can serve the purpose. In India, we have both bicameral as well as
unicameral legislatures at the state level.
India's Bicameral Legislature
Federalism in the modern context is a division of power between the central and state
authorities. Both the concepts are linked together because of the federal character of a nation
comprising Constituent units which reflects in and secured by bicameral legislature, i.e. the
center-state relations. It was adopted by the US Constitution in 1787 for the very first time.
Presently, 79 Parliaments in the world are having bicameral legislature.
India follows the Bicameral Legislature. The Council of States is the Upper House of India’s
bicameral legislature. The adoption of a bicameral legislature for the Union of India is guided by
three sets of reasons.
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In India, the concept of Bicameral legislature was introduced by the Government of India Act,
1919 with the Council of States comprising 60 members and a Legislative Assembly comprising
145 members. However, the membership and voting rights were restricted for the Council of
States. Only wealthy landowners, merchants and people with legislative experience were
allowed to enter. Women were not given membership and voting rights.

Government of India Act, 1935 came up with some improvisation but it never came into being.
Constituent Assembly after its formation in 1947 worked on Constitution making and after
adoption of Constitution it worked as a provisional Parliament and made laws till 1952.
● First, Rajya Sabha as the name implies, was to be a chamber for representing and
protecting the rights of the states in a federal policy. Rajya Sabha, therefore, has equal
role and status to that of the Lok Sabha in the Electoral College for choosing the
president. Members of State legislative assemblies elect Rajya Sabha representatives
for their States on a proportional representation system. In the event of a deadlock
between the two Houses of Parliament, for example, if reconsideration of a bill fails to
achieve a mutually satisfactory resolution, then the president can convene a joint sitting
of both the Houses.
● The second purpose of establishing a bicameral legislature was to provide an
institutional opportunity for second thoughts and a wiser counsel even after the passage
of a bill by the Lok Sabha. This largely depends on the party composition in both the
Houses.
● The third function of Rajya Sabha in the Indian system of governance is to enable a bill
to be introduced in the Parliament even when the Lok Sabha is not in session. Much of
the Parliamentary debate and work on the bill can be completed by the time the Lok
Sabha reconvenes. In respect of certain specified federal features of the Constitution,
the primary amending role has been given to the Rajya Sabha as the custodian of State
rights.
Lok Sabha is susceptible to passions of the moment and electoral considerations. The
legislation needs to be checked by the second chamber whose members are sober, wise and
well-informed with domain knowledge.
It is a deliberative body which holds high-quality debates on important issues.
Rajya Sabha has some special powers as required to adopt a resolution allowing Parliament to
legislate on subjects in State List (Schedule VII), creating All India Service (Art. 312), besides
approving proclamations of Emergency and Presidents’ Rule when Lok Sabha is dissolved.
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Critics of Indian Legislature

● Elections to parliament's lower house, the Lok Sabha, are still crucial to determining who
governs India. No one questions the legitimacy of the electoral process.

● Over nearly seven decades, India's Election Commission has successfully run free and
fair polls, and in fact has continually managed to improve the process.

● Nevertheless, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
sweeping 2014 elections with the first single-party Lok Sabha majority in three decades,
his government's agenda has been stymied.
● There are rules, of course, for maintaining discipline in the house, but they are rarely
enforced. In fact, on rare occasions speakers have suspended members for disruptions.
This means that the Congress, with only 45 seats in the 543 member Lok Sabha often
makes a ruckus and prevents the house from functioning, much like the BJP used to do
when it was in the opposition. Other smaller parties are no slouches at this, either.
● The Indian parliament (and state assemblies) faces ‘an acute deficit of perception
management with its public image at very low ebb’. There is indeed a perceptible decline
in terms of devaluation of parliamentary autonomy, poorer standard of debates and
discussions, deterioration in the conduct of the members, lower levels of participation
and disruptions in parliamentary proceedings.
● The citizens expect appropriate responses from the parliament by way of passing new
legislations, scrutinizing governmental policies and implementing welfare programmes.
To its credit, the Indian parliament has actively undertaken the burden of vastly extended
responsibilities of social engineering through legislation to accommodate deeply
conflicting interests in society. However, in recent years the parliament in India seems to
have lost its ‘majestic’ position.
● In recent times, parliament’s credibility has also been questioned due to criminalization
of politics, involvement of huge swathes of money in the electoral processes and
corruption scandals (Jai Prakash, 2003). The Vohra Committee Report (1993) underlined
that ‘the network of Mafia is virtually running a parallel government putting the State
apparatus into irrelevance, a powerful nexus between the bureaucracy and politicians
with Mafia gangs, smugglers and the underworld. Surya Prakash (1995) argues that the
behavioural and attitudinal aspects of the MPs could also be held partly responsible for
the degeneration in parliamentary proceedings.
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● Both the ‘decline’ and ‘democratization’ theses fail to explain several paradoxes that are
associated with Indian parliament in comparative terms.
○ The fragmentation of the party system in the 1990s and consequent unstable
coalitions since then have resulted in the deinstitutionalization of the system of
democratic governance. The parliamentary decline (in terms of sitting days,
disruptions, legislation passed and discussion of bills in the House) is sharper in
years after 1999 when India had stable coalition governments in comparison to
unstable governments between 1989 and 1999.
○ The fragmentation of the party system and the democratic upsurge of the
marginalized sections occurred simultaneously during the 1990s. The radical
hope of social change that the ‘progressive democratization’ thesis espouses
seems to have been ‘contained and domesticated’, at least for the time being
(Samuel, 1989; Yadav, 2004). Democratic upsurge peaked and reached its
‘historical closure’ by the turn of the century. Legislative bodies in India
(parliament and state assemblies) have indeed become more inclusive in terms
of representing various sections of the society; however, they have declined as
the institutions of voice and accountability.
○ Unlike in many Western democracies (especially the British parliament), the
decline of parliament in India is not due to the strengthening of the executive. The
major concern among the proponents of the ‘decline’ thesis has been the shifting
of balance in favour of the executive. However the executive itself has remained
weak in India during much of the noted period of decline in the literature. It is
ironic that the parliament in India despite too many cries for reform has not
witnessed any significant procedural reform or modernization apart from the
setting up of the Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) in the
early 1990s.
○ There are more members from OBCs but Muslims and Women MPs are still
underrepresented (due to reserved constituencies for SCs and STs the proportion
of SCs and STs have remained virtually the same).