Why can the Lok Sabha control the executive more effectively than the Rajya Sabha can?

The Lok Sabha can control the executive more effectively because the executive is formed from the party or a coalition of parties that has a majority in the Lok Sabha. The second reason is that the members of the Lok Sabha are elected directly by the people. And thirdly the Lok Sabha has the power to remove the executive from office but the Rajya Sabha cannot remove the government.

In the light of above question, we can say that in a parliamentary form of government it is necessary to get the government bills passed. Otherwise the government will collapse. Because the executive is accountable to the Lower House if a bill introduced by the minister does not succeed to be passed in Lok Sabha that means the party or the coalition of parties in power has lost the majority in the Lok Sabha and hence the government has to resign. To avoid this condition the majority party on combine has to often get the government bills passed. But it doesn’t mean that there is not any role of the Parliament in the law-making process.

A bill is introduced in either house of Parliament in case of non-money bill and the money bills are introduced in the Lok Sabha only. There can be different types of bills. When a non-minister proposes a bill, it is called private member’s bill. A bill proposed by the minister is called government bill. Even before a bill is introduced in the Parliament, there may be a lot of debate on the need for introducing such a bill. If the members of the majority party or coalition of the parties see that the particular bill does not fulfil the needs of the people they can pressurise the government to withdraw the same bill but if the bill is in the interest of the people, the political party may pressurise the government to initiate the bill. The bill has to go through different stages.

A lot of discussion takes place in the committees. The recommendations are sent to the House. In the third and final stage, the bill is voted upon. After passing the bill it is sent to the other House and it goes to the same procedure. The money bill can not be denied by the Rajya Sabha. It can delay it for 14 days only. After 14 days the money bill is deemed to have been passed. The ordinary bill has to be passed by both the Houses. If there is a tussle between the two Houses, an attempt is made to resolve it through a joint session of Parliament. But at all stages, the members of the Parliament take part in the discussions. And thus the role of the Parliament is most important in the law-making process.

1. Neha said that bicameral legislature does not serve any purpose. But it is not true. In a large country like India it is preferred to have two houses of the legislature to give representation to all sections of the society. The second argument in favour of Bicameral legislature is that the monopoly of the first chamber can be checked.

2. Shama argued that experts should be nominated in the second chamber. In our country the President can nominate 12 members in Rajya Sabha. These nominations are made from among those persons who have the specialisation in the fields of literature, art, social services, science, etc. The selected members of the different fields are experienced and they posses intellectual depth.

3. 'Tridib’ arguments may not be valid. Even if a country is not a federation, a need for the second chamber is there. The two houses of the national legislature are required to give representations to all the sections of the society and to give representation to all geographical regions of parts of the country. A bicameral legislature ensures double check on every bill and every policy matter, thus realizing the exact purpose of the legislative organ of the government.

We know that the Lower House of the Parliament i.e. the Lok Sabha has more power to control the executive but rather than effective control of the executive, the Lok Sabha is a platform for the expression of popular sentiments and people’s expectations.

The Parliament has the power to make laws regarding the subjects given in the Union List and it is also empowered to pass laws concerning the subjects given in the Concurrent List.

The members of the Lok Sabha express their views on the bill when it is discussed in the lower house. They express the popular sentiments and the expectations of the people of their constituencies. The supporters of the bill argue in its favour while those who are opposed to the bill, point out the defects of the bill before the House and recommend for its modification and rejection. There is a clause by clause discussion on the bill. The money bills have to be introduced in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha.

Alok’s thinking is completely ignorant. Executive and legislature have quite two different domains of operation. The executive runs the administration of the country while legislature is concerned with the formation of laws and to check the executions of the executive and judiciary. If we simply elect our Prime Minister and minister and leave to them the task of government, it will give rise to dictatorship. The legislature helps people in holding the Council of Ministers accountable. Without the legislature, a true representative democracy cannot be materialised. Legislature is the most important organ of all the organs of government. Without the fetters of the legislature there would be all likelihood that the Council of Ministers would become unresponsive to the people’s hopes and aspirations.