Lok Sabha

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Image:LokSabha.jpg The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are direct representatives of the people of India, having been directly elected by the electorate consisting of all eligible adult citizens of India. Its maximum size as outlined in the Constitution of India is 552 members, made up of up to 530 members representing people from the states of India, upto 20 members representing people from the Union Territories, and 2 members appointed by the President of India to represent the Anglo-Indian community if he or she finds that community to not have adequate representation in the House.

Each Lok Sabha is formed for a five year term, after which it is automatically dissolved, unless extended by a Proclamation of Emergency which may extend the term in one year increments. The Fourteenth Lok Sabha was formed in May, 2004.

1 Qualifications required to become a member
2 Important Members of the Fourteenth Lok Sabha
3 Composition of Lok Sabha
4 Special powers of the Lok Sabha
5 Sessions of Lok Sabha
6 Lok Sabha since Independence
7 See also
8 External links

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Qualifications required to become a member

To become a member of the Lok Sabha, a person must be a citizen of India, not less than 25 years of age. He/she should be mentally sound and should not be bankrupt. He/she should also state an affidavit that there are no criminal procedures against him/her.

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Important Members of the Fourteenth Lok Sabha

Speaker: Somnath Chatterjee, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Bolpur, West Bengal
Deputy Speaker: Charnjit Singh Atwal, Shiromani Akali Dal, Phillaur, Punjab
Leader of the House: Pranab Mukherjee, Indian National Congress, Jangipur, West Bengal
Leader of the Opposition: Lal Krishna Advani, Bharatiya Janata Party, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
Secretary-General: P.D.T. Achary

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Composition of Lok Sabha

The membership of Lok Sabha is distributed among the states and union territories so as to ensure proper representation of the population of the states and union territories. The current allocation of membership is as follows: (545 members: 543 elected + 2 nominated)

States:

Union Territories

Nominated Members

Anglo-Indians - 2

Total members - 545

The members of the Lok Sabha elect a Speaker of Lok Sabha who is responsible for the conduct of business of the body, and a Deputy Speaker to preside over the proceedings in the absence of the Speaker.

On normal business days, the Lok Sabha assembles from 11 AM to 1 PM, and again from 2 PM to 6 PM. The first hour of every sitting is called the Question Hour, during which questions posed by members may be assigned to specific government ministries, to be answered at a fixed date in the future.

The Lok Sabha shares legislative power with the Rajya Sabha, except in the area of Money Bills, in which case the Lok Sabha has the ultimate authority. If conflicting legislation is enacted by the two Houses, a joint sitting is held to resolve the differences. In such a session, the members of the Lok Sabha would generally prevail, since the Lok Sabha includes more than twice as many members as the Rajya Sabha.

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Special powers of the Lok Sabha

The special powers of the Lok Sabha is the reason why the Lok Sabha is more powerful than the Rajya Sabha.

A motion of no confidence against the government may be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. If passed by majority vote, the Prime Minister and his council of Ministers shall collectively resign.

A money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. After it is passed by the Lok Sabha, it is sent to the Rajya Sabha, where it can be deliberated upon for a maximum period of 14 days. Unless rejected by the Rajya Sabha, or 14 days lapse from the introduction of the bill in the Rajya Sabha without any action by the House, or recommendations made by the Rajya Sabha are not accepted by the Lok Sabha, the bill shall be considered passed. The budget is presented in the Lok Sabha by the Finance Minister in the name of the President of India.

In matters pertaining to non-financial bills, after the bill has been passed by the House where it was originally tabled (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha), it shall be sent to the other house, where it may be kept for a maximum period of 6 months. If the other House rejects the bill or a period of 6 months elapses without any action by that House, or the recommendations made by the members of the other house are not accepted by the House which originally tabled the bill, it results in a deadlock. This is resolved by the President by calling a joint session of both houses which is presided over by the speaker of the Lok Sabha and decided by a simple majority.

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