Civics Polity

Legislature and Parliament

1,499 Questions

Legislature and Parliament topics cover the structure, functions, and legislative procedures of the lawmaking bodies. This collection focuses on the passage of bills, parliamentary committees, and the roles of different houses. These questions are highly relevant for civil services and state public service commission examinations.

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Legislature and Parliament Questions

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

Who among the following have the right to vote in the elections to both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha?

  1. Elected members to the Lower House of Parliament

  2. Elected members of the. Upper House of Parliament

  3. Elected members of the Upper House of State Legislature

  4. Elected members of the Lower House of State Legislature
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Elected members of the Lower House of State Legislature have the right to vote in the elections to both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Members of Rajya Sabha are not elected by the adult suffrage concept, they are elected by the legislative assemblies of the various states of India. Therefore (MLAs) Members of Legislative Assembly take part in the election of Rajya Sabha.
One of the required qualifications for becoming an MLA is that the age of a person must be 25 years and above.
Hence, it is very clear that an MLA has the right to vote in the Lok Sabha election because he/she has surely crossed the age of 18.
So, MLAs (Members of Legislative Assembly) can vote in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

The Union Territories get representation in _______________.

  1. Lok Sabha

  2. Rajya Sabha

  3. both Houses of Parliament

  4. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Option C is the correct answer. 

The Union Territories get representation in both the Houses of the Parliament. Lok Sabha has 20 members from Union Territories. Delhi and Puducherry are the only two UTs which have representation in Rajya Sabha.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

Which of the following is correct?

  1. All the members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by State Legislative Assemblies

  2. Only a member of the Rajya Sabha can contest for the office of the Vice-President

  3. While a candidate to the Lok Sabha can contest from any State in India, a candidate to the Rajya Sabha should ordinarily be a resident of the State from where he is contesting

  4. The Constitution explicitly prohibits the appointment of a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha to the post of a Minister
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Option C is the correct answer. While a candidate to the Lok Sabha can contest from any State in India, a candidate to the Rajya Sabha should ordinarily be a resident of the State from where he is contesting.  While laying down the qualifications for a Rajya Sabha member, the Constitution framers said that the person should “ordinarily” be a resident of the state from where she seeks election.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

Which of the following is presided over by a non-member?

  1. Lok Sabha

  2. Rajya Sabha

  3. Vidhan Sabha

  4. Joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Rajya Sabha is the permanent house and is presided over by the Vice President of India, who is its ex-officio chairman. A Deputy Chairman is chosen from amongst the members of Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha cannot be dissolved.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

The members of the Rajya Sabha are ______________.

  1. Directly elected

  2. Indirectly elected

  3. Nominated

  4. Indirectly elected and nominated also
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha can be 250 members. The members fall into two categories- nominated and elected. 
The nominated members are 12 in number who are nominated by the President from among persons having special knowledge in matters such as literature, art, science, etc.
238 members are elected by the States in the Union. 
The Rajya Sabha is a permanent House. Each member of the Rajya Sabha is elected for a term of six years.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

What is the maximum premissible strength of elected members of Upper House according to the Constitution?

  1. 234

  2. 238

  3. 242

  4. 250
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The constitution of India states the maximum permissible strength of elected representatives to the upper house (Rajya Shaba) shall be $250$. Where $238$ shall be elected representatives from the lower house and $12$ representatives shall be chosen by the president.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

Why is Rajya Sabha called the House of States?

  1. Electoral college constitutes only the representatives of state assemblies

  2. Rajya Sabha consists of members of legislative assemblies as its members

  3. Rajya Sabha elections are held along with the elections to state assemblies

  4. Rajya Sabha is meant to protect the interests of States in the federal set up.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Rajya Sabha is called House of States or Council of states. Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the state legislative assemblies. Its members represent the state at the centre. Rajya Sabha protects the right or the interest of the states against the union.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

___________ is the permanent house of the Indian Parliament.

  1. Rajya Sabha

  2. Lok Sabha

  3. Vidhan Sabha

  4. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the Parliament. The Constitution fixes the maximum membership to 250. The members are elected by indirect election for a period of six years. One-third of members retire every two years which makes it the permanent house of the Parliament.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

The upper house is known as ______ .

  1. Rajya Sabha

  2. Lok Sabha

  3. Cabinet

  4. Parliament
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Indian Parliament is Bicameral parliament. It contains two houses of the parliament named as Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

 Lok Sabha is the lower house/first chamber of the parliament. Rajya Sabha is the upper house/ second chamber of the Parliament.
Members of Lok Sabha are elected directly by the people of territorial constituencies of states. Members of Rajya Sabha are elected indirectly. It means they are elected by the members of state legislative assemblies.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

The representation to States in the Rajya Sabha is given on the basis of _____________________.

  1. an equal number of seats to each State

  2. in proportion to their population

  3. in proportion to their size

  4. in accordance with their resources
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution provides for allocation of seats to the States and Union Territories in Rajya Sabha.  The allocation of seats is made on the basis of the population of each State.  Consequent on the reorganization of States and formation of new States, the number of elected seats in the Rajya Sabha allotted to States and Union Territories has changed from time to time since 1952.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

A dissolution does not affect ____________________________.

  1. a bill that originated in the Rajya Sabha and sent to Lok Sabha

  2. a bill that originated in the Lok Sabha but has been sent to Rajya Sabha

  3. a bill that originated in the Rajya Sabha but has not yet been sent to the Lok Sabha

  4. Any of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The following matters are not affected in case of dissolution of the Lok Sabha:

  • A bill originating and pending in the Rajya Sabha.
  • A joint sitting of Parliament if notification of such a sitting has been given before the dissolution.
  • Bills passed by both Houses and sent to the President for his assent.
  • Bills returned by President for reconsideration.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

Which of the following is true regarding the Vice-Chairman of the Rajya Sabha? 

  1. One has to be a member of the Rajya Sabha for election to the post of the Vice-Chairman

  2. One need not necessarily be a member of the Rajya Sabha for election to the post of the Vice-Chairman

  3. One has to be a member of either House of Parliament for election to the post of the Vice-Chairman

  4. There is an established convention that the Vice-Chairman of the Rajya Sabha belongs to the main opposition party in the Rajya Sabha
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Deputy chairman or Vice-chairman of the Rajya Sabha is elected by the Rajya Sabha itself from amongst its members. It means that one has to be the member of Rajya Sabha for election to the post of the Vice Chairman.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

Members of Lok Sabha are elected by the way of _______________.

  1. People's representation

  2. By the State Legislature

  3. Nominations

  4. By electoral college
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The members of the Lower House of the Parliament(Lok Sabha) are directly elected by the people from the territorial constituencies in the State. From one constituency only one representative is elected. The election is based on the principle of Universal Adult Franchise. Every Indian citizen who is above 18 years of age is eligible to vote at such elections. Accordingly the representatives of the Union territories are chosen by direct election. The President is empowered to nominate two members from Anglo Indian Community.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

Which one is the correct statement ___________________________.

  1. The Chairman of Rajya Sabha is Vice- President

  2. The position and powers and in all other matters, the position of Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is the same as that of the Speaker

  3. Both above statements are true

  4. Both above statements are false
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The Presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha is known as the Chairman. The vice-president of India is the ex-officio(by the status) chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The Chairman of Rajya Sabha enjoys the same position and power in all matters as that of Speaker in Lok Sabha.

Multiple choice political science the indian parliament rajya sabha the rajya sabha indian administration act of 1935

Give correct response to ______________________.

  1. A money bill can be rejected by the Rajya Sabha

  2. The President can withhold his assent to a money bill

  3. A money bill can be passed in a joint sitting of both Houses

  4. A money bill cannot be rejected by the Rajya Sabha nor can the President withhold his assent
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

A money bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha and that too on the recommendation of the President. The Rajya Sabha has limited powers with regard to money bill. It cannot reject or amend a money bill but can provide recommendations. The President can give his assent or withhold his assent on money bill but he cannot return the bill for reconsideration Generally the president gives his assent to the bill as it was introduced with his prior permission.