Indian State Government and Legislature - Class X

In order to be a member of legislative assembly or MLA, a person should have some qualifications. Besides being a citizen of India, the individual should not be less than 25 years of age. On a more fundamental note, a person, who is not a voter from any constituency of the state, is not eligible to become an MLA.  Failing to qualify on one or all of these parameters bars a person from contesting the election of the state legislature.

Legislative Assembly passes the annual budget of the State. No money can be raised, no tax can be levied, and no expenditure can be incurred without the sanction of the State Legislative Assembly.

To introduce new law first we have to make a ordinary bill of that and produce it in two House. These became law only when it passed by two House and signed by Governor.

The Chief Minister is the leader of the majority party in the legislative assembly. He and most of the other minister are taken from among its member of legislative assembly.

Since the Indian constitution institutes Parliamentary type of Government in the state. The most important function of the Legislative Assembly is to act as the highest law making organ of the state.

Qualification to become a member of Vidhan Sabha are: One must be a citizen of India, 25 years of age, having his/her name in the voter's list, and mentally sound. In addition to these, one should not be a proclaimed criminal.

The Legislative Council shall hold its meeting atleast once in a period of six months.

Legislative Assembly (also known as Vidhan Sabha) is the lower house of the bicameral states and sole house of the unicameral states.

A State Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) can pass a resolution for the establishment or elimination of the State Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad).

The members of the Vidhana Sabha or the lower house of the state legislature are directly elected by people through adult franchise. Post-election, Vidhan Sabha is formed and conducts business for a five-year term. After fiver-years, the Vidhan Sabha goes for fresh election through adult franchise.

When the constitutional machinery of the states is unable to perform, their governance comes under the direct control of the Centre. President's Rule is imposed in such states. In this scenario, the executive power of running the state moves away from the council of ministers to the governor.

Elections to the Vidhan Sabhas are carried out in the same manner as for the Lok Sabha election. People of the constituencies cast their votes for the candidates contesting the election there. The candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins and becomes the MLA for that seat.

The Governor is the Chief Executive in a State. The Governor is an integral part of the State legislature, though he is not a member of either house of it. Governor summons the sessions of both houses of the state legislature and prorogues them.

Members
of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are elected by the people. They then
become members of the legislative assembly and also form the government
. In this way that the MLAs represent people.Every state in India has a
Legislative Assembly.Each state is divided into different areas or
constituencies.

Money Bills can be introduced only in the Legislative Assembly of a State (or Lok Sabha in the Parliament) because the Legislative Assembly comprises of representatives directly elected by the people. Financial power must always remain with the people who have elected their representatives. 

As per the Constitution all the parties which do not take part in the formation of government are called opposition parties. In our democratic set up the role of the opposition parties is in no way less important than the ruling party. The opposition parties keep a watch over the functioning of the ruling party. They take part in every discussion and debate held in the Assembly. They can check and protest any wrong action of the government.

The
decisions taken by the Chief Minister and other ministers must be
debated in the Legislative Assembly. It is because during debate it is
discussed whether a particular decision is in interest of the people at
large or not. It is also discussed whether it is urgent or not, how much
would it cost the government, is there anything objectionable for any
particular community, etc.

The Governor of the State summons from time to time each House of State Legislature to meet. The maximum gap between the two sessions of the State Legislature cannot be more than 6 months. Thus the state legislature should meet at least twice a year.

An ordinary or non-money bill can be introduced in either House of the State Legislature. It should be passed by both the Houses to become a law. If the bill is moved and passed in the Legislative Assembly in the first instance, it goes to the Legislative Council. The Legislative Council can hold the bill for a maximum period of 4 months.

The Legislative Assembly consists of not more than 500 members and not less than 60. The biggest state like Uttar Pradesh has 403 members in its Assembly. States which have small population and are small in size have a provision for having even lesser number of members in the Legislative Assembly. Puducherry has 30 members. Mizoram, Goa has only 40 members each. Sikkim has 32 members.

The constitution of India has full provisions about the creation of legislative council and its abolishment. The power of abolition and creation of the State legislative council is vested in Parliament of India as per article 169. But again, to create or to abolish a state legislative council, the state legislative assembly must pass a resolution, which must be supported by majority of the strength of the house and 2/3rd majority of the present and voting. When a legislative council is created or abolished, the Constitution of India is also changed. However, still, such type of law is not considered a Constitution Amendment Bill. The resolution to create and abolish a state legislative council is to be assented by the President also.

The Legislative Assembly consists of not more than 500 members and not less than 60. The biggest state like Uttar Pradesh has 403 members in its Assembly. States which have small population and are small in size have a provision for having even lesser number of members in the Legislative Assembly. Puducherry has 30 members. Mizoram, Goa have only 40 members each. Sikkim has 32 members. All members of the Legislative Assembly are elected on the basis of adult franchise, and one member is elected from one constituency. Just as the President has the power to nominate 2 Anglo Indians to the Lok Sabha, similarly, the Governor also has the power to nominate 1 member from Anglo Indian's community as he deems fit, if he is of the opinion that they are not adequately represented in the Assembly.

Members of the Legislative Councils are chosen in the following manner:

1. One-third are elected by members of local bodies such as Municipalities, Gram Sabhas, Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads.
2. One-third are elected by members of Legislative Assemblies of the State.
3. One-twelfth are elected by graduate teachers.
4. One-twelfth of the members are elected by graduates of the universities in the State
5. One-sixth are nominated by the Governor from persons having the knowledge or practical experience in fields such as literature, science, arts, the co-operative movement and social service.

Articles 168 to 212 of the Indian Constitution deal with the organization, composition, duration, and procedures of the State Legislatures.

Having a bicameral structure means having a Lower and Upper house, that mimics the structure of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha (Legislativ Assembly/Vidhan Sabha and Legislative Council/Vidhan Parishad) Currently the 6 states that have a bicameral structure are: Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra,Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir. The remaining 22 states have a unicameral structure, which means they have only the Legislative Assembly and not the Legislative Council.

Two-thirds of present and voting members must vote yes, and this number must also constitute the majority of the total capacity of membership of that House.

Such a decision by the Speaker is subject to judicial review as well as a Supreme Court's decision in 1992.

The qualification to member of the lergely similar to the qualification to be the members of Parliament. A person should be, citizen of India not less than 25 years and of age to be member of the Legislative Assembly and not less than 30 years as per Article 173 of Indian Constitution to be a member of the Legislative Council.

A speaker of Legislative Assembly is the head of the House. Who has all the power of approval as well as the rejection of bills. So the Speaker has the power to decide whether the bill is Money Bill or not.

Laws can be both state and central.  Laws in India can be made by the Union Government (National Laws) or at the State Level (State Laws). Central laws are passed by parliament. On the other hand state laws are made by state legislature. Each state has a huge number of laws passed.

Public bill is a bill which is of national interest. Public bill can only introduced by a member of parliament who is of ruling party. Generally, it has a better chance of approval than the Private Bill, A Public Bill demonstrates the policies of the ruling party government. Notice period for the introduction of the Bill is 7 days and notice period of one month is required for Private Bill.

All the executive actions of the government of the state are taken on the name of Governor.

It is the Chief Justice of concerned State High Court who administers the oath of office to the Governor. In his absence, it is the senior-most judge of the High Court who administers the oath.

On the advice of the Chief Minister, the Governor appoints the Advocate General for the province. Such advice is binding on the Governor under Article 105 of the Constitution. A person who is qualified to be appointed as judge of the High Court is qualified for the appointment as the Advocate General of the province.

Such a decision by the Speaker is subject to judicial review as well as a Supreme Court's decision in 1992.

The real law making power are in hand of Legislative Assembly in connection with State Legislative, who got the power to making law on the subject of the state list and concurrent list.

The State Legislative Assembly elects its own Speaker and Deputy Speaker. It can also remove either of them through a vote of no- confidence.

Legislative Assembly controls the finance of the State. It comes under the finance power of State Legislative Assembly. Any change in finance are introduced or any modification in finance are also introduced by legislative assembly.

A Money Bill can be moved and passed only in the Legislative Assembly. It goes to the Legislative Council for its consideration. The Council must return it within 14 days. It can make some suggestions, but it is for the Assembly to accept these or not. After the expiry of 14 days, the bill gets fully passed even when the Council has not passed it.

Legislative assembly controls the State council of Ministers. It comes under the administrative power of legislative assembly. Only the ruling party changed as per election but the legislative assembly powers are same.

Any Bill first introduced in legislative assembly, after passing from legislative assembly it introduced in legislative council for final approval. The legislative council can only delay the passing of any ordinary bill by a maximum of 4 months.

The legislative assembly control the ministry through several methods like:
Call-attention motions, putting of adjournment motions, questions, censure motion, non-confidence motion.

One-third of the members of the Legislative Council of the State are also elected by the State Legislative Assembly.

Each minister is individually responsible before the state legislative assembly in respect of the work of the department which is under him. The state council of ministers is collectively responsible before the state legislative assembly.

As such at the state level only Six Vidhan Parishads (Legislative Councils) are at work in India.

The Chairman, and in his absence the Deputy Chairman, presides over the meetings of the Legislative Council.

Article 168 of the constitution of India provides for a Legislature in every state of the country. The same article mentions that there are some states where there is a legislative council as well. Thus, Indian Constitution does not adhere to the principle of bicameralism in case of every legislature.

Only Six Indian States (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, J&K, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and UP) have bicameral legislatures.

The Legislative Council has two elected officials: the Chairman and Deputy Chairman. They are elected by the members of Legislative Council from among themselves.

The Legislative Council has two elected officials: the Chairman and Deputy Chairman. 

The existence of the Legislative Council in a state depends upon the will of the State Legislative Assembly.

The Legislature Council is a quasi-permanent house. Which never dissolved as a whole.

Almost 1/3rd members are elected by the local bodies like municipal committees, Zilla Parishads and other such local authorities in the State, as specified by the law of the Parliament.

Regarding the composition of the State Legislative Council, the Constitution declares that it shall have members not more than 1/3rd of the total membership of the State Legislative Assembly, but the minimum must not be less than forty.

Almost 1/3rd members of the Council are elected by the members of the State Legislative Assembly from among the persons who are not M La's.

Vidhan Parishad, like Rajya Sabha, is the Upper House and is also a permanent House. It cannot be dissolved. Its total strength does not exceed one-third of the strength of the Legislative Assembly, subject to a minimum of 40 members. The strength varies as per the population of the concerned state.

The Constitution of India provides for a division of powers between the Union (Centre) and states. It divides all the subjects into 3 lists - Union List, State List and Concurrent List. The State Legislatures can enact laws for subjects listed under State List and Concurrent List.

State List - It is a list of subjects of state and local importance. These include police, trade, commerce, agriculture, and irrigation. The law relating to these subjects can be made only by the State Governments.

Concurrent List - The Concurrent List contains subjects of common interest to both the Union as well as the States. These include education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption, and succession. The law relating to these subjects can be made by both the Central and State Governments.

The Vice-President is not a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of a Legislature of any state. The Vice President is elected by a direct vote of all members elected and nominated, of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The Vidhan Parishad or Legislative Council is the upper house in those states of India that have a bicameral legislature. Article 171 of the Constitution of India provides for the establishment of a Vidhan Parishad.

The Karnataka state legislature is bicameral with Legislative Assembly or Vidhan Sabha as the lower house and the Legislative Council or Vidhan Parishad as the upper house. The members of the Vidhana Sabha are directly elected by people through adult franchise. There are 224 members of the Vidhana Sabha or the Legislative Assembly of Karnataka state.

Legislative Assembly or Vidhan Sabha is the upper house in a bicameral state legislature. Members of the Legislative Council or MLCs are elected for a term of six years. One-third of the Council's membership expires every two years.

Karnataka state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses: the Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly), and the Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council). The Karnataka Legislative Council is a permanent body consisting of 75 members.

If the Legislative Assembly rejects the budget presented by the state government, it has to resign. This is because the move shows that the Legislative Assembly has lost faith in the government.

The members of Legislative Assembly of the State legislature in the state are directly elected by the people on the basis of universal adult franchise. For the purpose of holding direct elections, each state is divided into territorial constituencies

The Members of Legislative Council (M.L.C) are elected for a term of six years. They should not be less than 30 years of age. A few Members are nominated by the Governor. Others are elected by the Members of the Legislative Assembly, Local Bodies, Registered Graduates and Teachers.

Opposition
refers to elected representatives who are not members of the ruling
party and who play the role of questioning government decisions and
actions as well as raise new issues for consideration in the
Assembly. The political party that has the majority is called the ruling
party and all other members are called the opposition.

The membership of the Legislative Council is not more than one-third of the membership of the Legislative Assembly. The number of Members in the Karnataka Legislative Council is 75. A few Members are nominated by the Governor. Others are elected by the Members of the Legislative Assembly, Local Bodies, Registered Graduates and Teachers.

A
Legislative Assembly is a place where all the MLAs, whether from the
ruling party or from the opposition meet to discuss various things.Hence
, some MLAs have dual responsibilities;one as an MLA and other as a
minister.

The Governor is appointed by the President of India. He holds office during the pleasure of the President. Under the Constitution of India, the Governor of a State possesses wide powers and functions executive, legislative, financial and judicial. He is the chief executive of a State in India. The powers and functions of the Governor of Indian State resemble that of the President of the Union Government. Like the President, the Governor is also a constitutional ruler, a nominal figure. He is not a real functionary. Generally speaking, the Governor acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

Option A is the correct answer. The total number of members in a Legislative Council should not exceed that of a Legislative Assembly by 1/3rd. Article 171 of the Constitution states this.

The Constitution provides for the abolition or creation of Legislative Councils in States. The Parliament has the power to abolish or create the legislative council. If the legislative council is created or exists in State it is a permanent body like Rajya Sabha and cannot be dissolved. Only one third of its members retire on the expiration of every second year.

A State Minister will give his resignation to the CM, who will consider it and forward it to the Governor of the respective state. 

According to the Representation of the People Act, a person cannot be a member of both Houses of Parliament or both Houses of Parliament and a State Legislature; they must vacate one of the seats.

The Advocate-General is appointed by the Governor (not in consultation with the Chief Justice), holds office at the pleasure of the Governor (not the legislature), and has no fixed term of five years. Since all statements are incorrect, D is the correct choice.

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is elected by the members of the House and can only be removed by a resolution passed by the House. In contrast, the Advocate-General, Chairman of the PSC, and Auditor-General are appointed by the Governor and hold office during the Governor's pleasure.

EXECUTIVE POWERS OF GOVERNOR:
1. The Governor appoints the Vice-Chancellor of the Universities of the state
2. The Governor acts as the Chancellor of the Universities of the state
3. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister and other state ministers
4. The Governor appoints the advocate general of the state

Jammu & Kashmir upper house has strength of 36 only. This is because; J & K assembly is created as per the J & K constitution and Part VI is not applicable to Jammu & Kashmir.