Parliament of India: Difference between revisions

|coa_pic          = Indian Parliament.svg

|coa_caption      =  

|coa_res          = 300px

|coa_alt          = Parliament of India

|leader4_type      = [[Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha]]

|leader5_type      = [[Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha]]

|leader8_type      = [[Leader of the House in Lok Sabha]]

|leader9_type      = [[Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha]]

|leader9          = Vacant {{small|(Since 26 May 2014, No party has 10% Seats, other than [[BJP]])}}

|seats            = {{big|'''788'''}} <br/> {{bulleted list|245 [[List of current members of the Rajya Sabha|Members of Rajya Sabha]]<br />|543 [[List of members of the 17th Lok Sabha|Members of Lok Sabha]]}}

*'''[[Government of India|Government]] (144)'''

*'''[[Parliamentary Opposition|Opposition]] (96)'''

*'''[[Vacant]] (5)'''

*'''[[Government of India|Government]] (382)'''

*'''[[Parliamentary Opposition|Opposition]] (160)'''

*'''[[Vacant]] (1)'''

|session_room      =

|session_res      = 300px

The '''Parliament of India''' ([[International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration|IAST]]: {{IAST|Bhāratīya Sansad}}) is the supreme [[legislature|legislative body]] of the [[India|Republic of India]]. It is a [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] [[legislature]] composed of the [[President of India]] and the two houses: the [[Rajya Sabha]] (Council of States) and the [[Lok Sabha]] (House of the People). The President in his role as head of legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha. The president can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] and his [[Union Council of Ministers]].

The ''[[Parliament House (India)|Parliament House]]'' (''Sansad Bhavan'') is located in [[New Delhi]]. It was designed by [[Edwin Lutyens]] and [[Herbert Baker]], who were responsible for planning and construction of New Delhi by British government, as the home of the [[Central Legislative Assembly]], the [[Council of State (India)|Council of State]], and the [[Chamber of Princes]]. The construction of building took six years and the opening ceremony was performed on 18 January 1927 by the then [[Governor-General of India|Viceroy and Governor-General of India]], [[Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax|Lord Irwin]]. The construction costs for the building were .{{INRConvert|8.3|m}}. The parliament is {{convert|70|ft|order=flip}} tall, {{convert|560|ft|order=flip}} in diameter and covers an area of {{convert|5.66|acre|order=flip}}. The Central Hall consists of the chambers of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and the Library hall. Surrounding these three chambers is the four-storeyed circular structure providing accommodations for members and houses [[Standing committee (India)|Parliamentary committees]], offices and the [[Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (India)|Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web|title=History of the Parliament, Delhi|url=http://delhiassembly.nic.in/history_assembly.html|publisher=delhiassembly.nic.in|access-date=13 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006075521/http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/dec/13parl1.html|archive-date=6 October 2013}}</ref>

The centre and the focus of the building is the Central Hall. It consists of chambers of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, and the Library Hall and between them lie garden courts. Surrounding these three chambers is the four-storeyed circular structure providing accommodations for ministers, chairmen, parliamentary committees, party offices, important offices of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat, and also the offices of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. The Central Hall is circular in shape and the dome is {{convert|98|ft|order=flip}} in diameter. It is a place of historical importance. The [[Constitution of India|Indian Constitution]] was framed in the Central Hall. The Central Hall was originally used in the library of the erstwhile Central Legislative Assembly and the Council of States. In 1946, it was converted and refurbished into [[Constituent Assembly of India|Constituent Assembly]] Hall. At present, the Central Hall is used for holding [[Joint Session of the Parliament of India|joint sittings]] of both the houses of parliament and also used for address by the President in the commencement of first session after each [[Lok Sabha#Lok Sabha general elections|general election]].

===Proposal for a new building===  

[[Lok Sabha]] (House of the People) or the [[lower house]] has 543 [[Member of parliament, Lok Sabha|members]]. 543 members are directly elected by citizens of India on the basis of [[Universal suffrage|universal adult franchise]] representing [[List of constituencies of the Lok Sabha|Parliamentary constituencies]] across the country. Between 1952 and 2020, [[Anglo-Indian reserved seats in the Lok Sabha| 2 additional members]] of the [[Anglo-Indian]] community were also nominated by the [[President of India]] on the advice of [[Government of India]], which was abolished in January 2020 by the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/constitution-104th-amendment-act-to-come-into-force-151919|title=Anglo Indian Representation To Lok Sabha, State Assemblies Done Away; SC-ST Reservation Extended For 10 Years: Constitution (104th Amendment) Act To Come Into Force On 25th Jan|website=www.livelaw.in|date=23 January 2020|access-date=25 January 2020}}</ref> Every citizen of [[India]] who is over 18 years of age, irrespective of gender, caste, religion, or race and is otherwise not disqualified, is eligible to vote for the Lok Sabha. The Constitution provides that the maximum strength of the House be 552 members. It has a term of five years. To be eligible for membership in the Lok Sabha, a person must be a citizen of India and must be 25 years of age or older, mentally sound, should not be bankrupt, and should not be criminally convicted. The total elective membership is distributed among the states in such a way that the ratio between the number of seats allotted to each state and the population of the state is, so far as practicable, the same for all states.

[[Standing committee (India)|Standing committees]] are permanent committees constituted from time to time in pursuance of the provisions of an act of Parliament or rules of procedure and conduct of business in Parliament. The work of these committees is of a continuing nature. Ad hoc committees are appointed for a specific purpose and they cease to exist when they finish the task assigned to them and submit a report.