- Advertisement -
Lok Sabha vs. Rajya Sabha : Difference Between Lok Sabha And Rajya Sabha
Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.
- Advertisement -
Difference Between Lok Sabha And Rajya Sabha : The Constitution is the foundational pillar of society, government, and organizations within the country. It is the rule book of a country. The Indian constitution has provided everyone with their fundamental rights like the right to education, right to life, right to speech and expression, cultural and educational rights, etc, and fundamental duties like respecting the National anthem and national flag, upholding sovereignty and integrity of India, etc.
Directive Principles of State Policies or DPSP for states like promoting equality and free legal aid to the poor, making provisions for the human condition of work during maternity and maternity leaves, etc, rules for election, Constitutional bodies and their compositions etc.
Read Also : Top 5 Health Insurance Companies In India In 2024
Lok Sabha vs. Rajya Sabha
But have you ever thought about who has the right to change the constitution? Yes, it is Parliament. By parliament, we mean the composition of three bodies Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and the President of India. India is a democracy and every institution is either directly or indirectly elected by its citizens.
The Indian Parliament, the heart of the world’s largest democracy, has two main pillars Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The former represents The people’s will and the latter represents the states.
Whenever the preamble says:
“We, the people of India, have solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic….”
It provides us the sword of election to uphold the ideals and aspirations of the Indian constitution and its citizens.
Creating differences between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is due to the same reason of upholding its ideals and aspirations of democracy and federalism.
Though the President is considered a dummy body, the real truth is the power lies with the person who is holding the position.
Read Also : 10 Best Online Learning Apps for Students In India [2024 Updated]
Loksabha and Rajyasabha are legislative bodies. They make laws for our nation. But there are many differences between lok sabha and rajya sabha.
Hence it is not true that the president is a dummy body; he has every power to make rules and is the real executive of the state.
Let us deep dive into the process of searching for differences between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Difference Between Lok Sabha And Rajya Sabha
| Characteristics | Lok Sabha | Rajya Sabha |
| Name | House of people | Council of States |
| Election | Directly elected by the people during general elections. | It is elected by the Members of Legislative Assemblies of States and Union Territories. |
| Representative Feature | Democracy | Federalism |
| Total members(max) | 552 | 250 |
| Tenure | 5 years, but can be dissolved by passing of no-confidence motion. | 6 years, it cannot be dissolved as it is a permanent body. |
| Minimum age to become a member | 25 years | 30 years |
| Presiding officer | Speaker | Vice President or Chairman |
| Financial Powers | Has special powers regarding money bills. Rajya Sabha can only make recommendations on money bills to lok Sabha they cannot change it | Rajya Sabha has the same power as Lok Sabha for non-money bills. |
| Special Powers | Only Lok Sabha can pass no confidence motion leading to the fall of the Government. | Has special power regarding rules and regulations associated with States like the creation of new states cannot be passed without Rajya Sabha’s consent. |
| Dissolution | Can be dissolved by the President of India on the advice of the Prime Minister. | It is a permanent body and cannot be dissolved. |
| Qualification | None | None |
| Representation | People of India. | States and union territories of India. |
| Role in the formation of government | A party or coalition with a majority of seats in Lok Sabha forms the government. | Rajya Sabha does not influence the formation of government but their members can be a part of the government. |
| Power on constitutional amendments | Lok Sabha plays a crucial role as it needs to pass constitutional amendments by two-thirds majority. | Rajyasabha needs to pass a constitutional amendment by a special majority(>50%) but if the amendment has been rejected by the Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha can still pass the amendment. |
| Allocation of seats | Based on population of India | Allocation of seats among the states majorly depends on the territory and population of the state. |
| Accountability | Directly accountable to the people of India. | No direct accountability to a group of voters. |
| Representation of experts | No direct seat reservation for experts | President can nominate 12 members to Rajya Sabha experts in different fields like art, literature, science, or social service |
Differences between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha find their presence due to the need of the situation. Both represent different bodies and different features of India. On one side Loksabha represents the people and on the other side Rajya Sabha represents the states and union territories, does the power allocated majorly depend on the context behind their formations?
During the formation of our constitution, the difference between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha was one of the majorly debated issues due to their sensitivity as they need to uphold both democracy and federalism.
The constitution has provided us with Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha protectors of the rights of people. It has provided nearly every law that is required to make Indian democracy healthy.
Read Also : The Big Picture! Understanding The Pros And Cons Of ‘One Nation One Election’
To prevent situations like monarchy, oligarchy or dictatorship Indian constitution has defined the separation of powers between three bodies i.e… legislative, executive, and judiciary. The legislative and executive find their origins from the Parliament of India.
As we come out of the river of differences between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, we must also know that these differences are very less in number when compared to the similarities.
Both houses have a bunch of similarities and the same powers. Some common features are:
law-making bodies, equal voting powers, having their presiding officers, independent elections conducted by the Election Commission of India, budget approval, quorums, oath or affirmation, secrecy, committees, constitutional bodies, etc. Thus we see the differences are not inferiority or superiority to one or the other house of parliament, the differences are the need of the position.
Read Also : Lok Sabha Election 2024 : Next PM Election Date, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha Election Date
However good a Constitution may be, if those who are implementing it are not good, it will prove to be bad. However bad a Constitution may be, if those implementing it are good, it will prove to be good. So long as you do not achieve social liberty, whatever freedom is provided by the law is of no avail to you.
BR Ambedkar, The Father of our Constitution
Thus we should focus more on inheriting our constitution at the core of our hearts because the text stood 70 years long in a nation where dialog, scripts, and culture change every 100 KM.
- Advertisement -
