Legislative Council to be set up in West Bengal
Recently a cabinet meeting was organized by the West Bengal government, in which it was decided that a Legislative Council would be set up in West Bengal.
Procedure for constitution of Legislative Council
- To establish the Legislative Council, a Bill is first introduced in the Legislative assembly of the respective state where the Legislative Council is to be constituted. This bill also requires the approval of the Governor.
- It should be noted that earlier in West Bengal, the Legislative Council (Upper House) was also established in the year 1952, which remained in service till
- The constitution, tenure, appointments, elections, privileges, and powers of both houses of the State Legislature have been arranged in the sixth part of the Constitution, from Articles 168 to 212.
- As per the constitution, the Legislative Council in the State Legislature is a permanent assembly in the form of the Upper House.
- As of now, only 6 states, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh have Legislative Councils, with the formation of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Legislative Council has been abolished.
- The tenure of the members of the Legislative Council is 6 years, which is similar to the members of the Rajya Sabha. And 1/3 of the total members retire every two years.
Importance of Legislative Council
- The parliamentary system of India is bicameral, meaning that there is a Lok Sabha in the form of a lower house and a Rajya Sabha in the form of a higher house.
- Similarly, there can be two Houses in the state; they have Legislative Assembly in the form of the lower house, and ‘Legislative Council’ in the form of Upper House. The Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) is similar to the Lok Sabha of the Center and the Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) is similar to the Rajya Sabha of the Center.
Procedure for creation of ‘Legislative Council’
- According to article 169 of the Indian constitution, Notwithstanding anything in article 168, Parliament may by law provide for the abolition of the Legislative Council of a State having such a Council or for the creation of such a Council in a State having no such Council, if the Legislative Assembly of the State passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting.
Number of Members in the House:
- According to Article 171 clause (1) of the Constitution, the total number of members of the Legislative Council of a State having a Legislative Council shall not exceed one-third of the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that State and the members of the Legislative Council of a State total number shall not be less than forty in any case.
Election of Members of Legislative Council:
- 1/3 of the members are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly.
- 1/3 of the members are elected by the state’s municipalities, district boards, and other local institutions.
- 1/12 member, by an electoral college, made up of teachers.
- 1/12 member, by electorate composed of registered graduates.
- The remaining 1/6 members are nominated by the Governor from among eminent persons in the fields of literature, science, arts, cooperative movement, and social service.
Source – The Hindu
