Difference between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

Difference between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha varies from Emergency provision to money bills to the stability of government including brining motions to the table of parliament. In this article, you will learn about Lok Sabha vs Rajya Sabha in terms of its equal, unequal and special powers and how Rajya Sabha is equivalent to Lok Sabha, providing key insights for GS Paper-II Polity and Governance of UPSC IAS Exam.

Table of Content

• Equal power of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
• Unequal power between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
• Special Powers of Rajya Sabha
• Significance of Rajya Sabha
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions

Equal power of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha:

• Introduction and approval of:
  • Regular bills
  • Amendment of the Constitution
  • Financial bills that involve expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India
• Election and impeachment of the president.
• Election and removal of the Vice-President.
  • However, only the Rajya Sabha can initiate the removal of the Vice-President.
  • The Rajya Sabha passes such a resolution with an effective majority (50% of the effective strength of the house) and the Lok Sabha passes it with a simple majority.
• Recommending the President for the removal of the Chief Justice, judges of the Supreme Court and high courts, chief election commissioner, and comptroller and auditor general.
• Approval of ordinances issued by the President.
• Approval of proclamations for all 3 types of emergencies issued by the President.
• Selection of ministers, including the Prime Minister.
• According to the Constitution, any ministers, including the Prime Minister can be members of either House.
  • Regardless of their membership, they are accountable only to the Lok Sabha.
• Examination of reports from constitutional bodies such as the Finance Commission, Union Public Service Commission, comptroller and auditor general, etc.
• Expansion of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Union Public Service Commission.

Unequal power between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha:

No.	Difference	Lok Sabha	Rajya Sabha
1.	Purpose	The Lok Sabha is known as the house of the people where various bills and laws are passed to ensure the smooth functioning of the nation.	The Rajya Sabha is referred to as the upper house of parliament that safeguards the rights of different states.
2.	Tenure	The Lok Sabha has a term of five years and dissolves after this period.	The Rajya Sabha has no specific term and is a permanent house that cannot be dissolved. After every 2 years, one-third of its members retire from the Rajya Sabha.
3.	Election system	Members of Lok Sabha are elected by the general public through the “first-past-the-post electoral system” voting process.	Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the people of various state assemblies and union territories through “Proportional representation“.
4.	Number of members or Maximum strength	It consists of a total of 500 to 600 members.	It consists of a total of 200 to 250 members.
5.	Eligibility to become its member or Minimum age	To become its member, a person must be at least 25 years old.	To become its member, a person must be at least 30 years old.
6.	Head or Chairperson of the House	It is represented by the Speaker of Lok Sabha.	The Vice-President acts as its representative.
7.	Money bills	Only members of the Lok Sabha have the authority to introduce money bills.	The Rajya Sabha does not have the power to introduce any money bills. The Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a Money Bill. The Rajya Sabha should return the bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days with or without recommendations.
8.	Power	The Lok Sabha holds more power compared to the Rajya Sabha.	The Rajya Sabha is relatively less influential than the Lok Sabha.
9.	Recommendations on Money Bill	The Lok Sabha has the authority to accept or reject the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha regarding a Money Bill.	A financial bill not related to matters of Article 110, can only be introduced only in the Lok Sabha, but both houses have equal powers in its passage.
10.	Joint siting of parliament	The Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over joint sittings of both the houses.
11.	Joint siting of parliament	In many cases the decision of the Lok Sabha prevails as it has a greater number, except when the combined strength of the ruling party in both houses is less than the opposition.
12.	Qualification as a Money Bill	The Speaker of the Lok Sabha has the final power to determine whether a particular bill qualifies as a Money Bill or not.	The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha cannot decide whether a bill is a money bill or not.
13.	Budget	Voting on demands for grants is the exclusive privilege of the Lok Sabha.	The Rajya Sabha can discuss the budget but cannot vote on demands for grants.
14.	National emergency	Only the Lok Sabha can pass a resolution to revoke a national emergency.
15.	No-confidence motion	As the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible only to the Lok Sabha, only Lok Sabha can table a No-confidence motion.	The Rajya Sabha cannot remove the council of ministers through a no-confidence motion. However, the Rajya Sabha can discuss and criticize government policies and activities.

Special Powers of Rajya Sabha:

• The Rajya Sabha possesses 4 special powers that are not granted to the Lok Sabha:
  • Article 249: it can authorize Parliament to create a law regarding a subject listed in the State List.
  • Article 312: it can authorize Parliament to establish new All-India Services that are common to both the central government and the states.
  • Article 67: it has the exclusive authority to initiate the removal of the vice-president.
  • Articles 352, 356, and 360: if the President proclaims a national emergency, president’s rule, or financial emergency at a time when the Lok Sabha has been dissolved or its dissolution occurs within the allowed period for approval, the proclamation can remain effective even if it is approved by the Rajya Sabha alone.

Significance of Rajya Sabha:

• It acts as a check on hasty or poorly designed legislation passed by the Lok Sabha by providing a means for revision and thoughtful deliberation.
• It facilitates the representation of distinguished professionals and experts who may not be able to participate in direct elections.
  • The President nominates 12 such individuals to the Rajya Sabha.
• It maintains a balance of power between the central government and the states by safeguarding the interests of the states against excessive interference from the central authority.
• Top of Form
• Bottom of Form

Conclusion

Thus, we can conclude that the position of the Rajya Sabha in our constitutional system is neither as weak as the House of Lords in the British constitutional system nor as strong as the Senate in the American constitutional system. Apart from financial matters and control over the council of ministers, the powers and status of the Rajya Sabha are almost equal to those of the Lok Sabha.

Rajya Sabha has equal powers with Lok Sabha in many cases such as Election and impeachment of the president or removal of vice-president among others. Though the difference exists in other terms also such as composition of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha has a strength of 543 members and Rajya Sabha has a strength of 245 members where 12 nominees are from the expertise of different fields of literature, art, science, and social service.

Ref: Source-1

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