Legislative Assembly & Legislative Council: Why in News?
Recently the Government of West Bengal has decided to set up a Legislative Council also known as Vidhan Parishad. To set up a Legislative Council a Bill must be introduced in the Legislative Assembly and then the approval from the Governor is also needed. The Legislative Council of West Bengal was abolished in 1969.
Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council- About
India has a bicameral form or system of Legislature. Like the Parliament of India has two houses- the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the states are also entitled to have a Legislative Council in addition to a Legislative Assembly. This has been granted as per Article 169 of the Constitution. Know more about both of them below and also get to know the difference between the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council below.
Article 168 of the Indian Constitution:
The Article states:
1) For every State there shall be a Legislature which shall consist of the Governor, and-
(a) in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir, two Houses;
(b) in other States, one House.
2) Where there are two Houses of the Legislature of a State, one shall be known as the Legislative Council and the other as the Legislative Assembly, and where there is only one House, it shall be known as the Legislative Assembly.
Legislative Assembly or the Vidhan Sabha: Details
- The composition of the Legislative Assembly is stated in the Article 170 of the Indian Constitution.
- As also subjected to Article 333, the Legislative Assembly of any state would consist of maximum 500 members and not less than 60 members.
- They must be chosen by direct election from the territorial constituencies of the state.
- The state would be divided into territorial boundaries/ constituencies in such a manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to it remain the same throughout the state.
Legislative Council or the Vidhan Parishad:
- The Legislative Councils are stated under Article 171 of the Indian Constitution.
- It is clearly stated that the Legislative Council of any state would not have more than one-third of the total strength of the State Assembly, and not less than 40 members.
- It has also been stated that until either the Law or Parliament allow, the composition would be subjected to clause 3 of the article.
- The Legislative Council is also a continuing chamber like the Rajya Sabha.
- The tenure of a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) is six years, with one-third members retiring every two years.
Difference between Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly:
The difference between Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad can be summarised as per the following table:
| SN | Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) | Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) |
| 1 | Legislative Assembly or Vidhan Sabha is the lower chamber in the legislature of the State | Like Rajya Sabha, Legislative Council is the upper house of the State Legislature |
| 2 | The members of Legislative Assembly are elected through Direct Elections | Legislative Council members are indirectly elected through proportional representation system. |
| 3 | The Legislative Assembly is a temporary body whose tenure is only 5 years after which it is dissolved. | Legislative Council is a permanent house which is never dissolved. It can only be abolished and 1/3rd members retire every 2 years |
| 4 | Speaker is the presiding officer of Legislative Assembly | Chairman is the presiding officer of Legislative Council |
| 5 | It is present in all the states of India | It is present in only Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. |
| 6 | The maximum strength of the Vidhan Sabha is of 500 members, and the minimum strength is 60 members. | The maximum number of members of Vidhan Parishad cannot be more than one-third of the total number of members in the Legislative Assembly. The number of members should not be less than 40. |
| 7 | To become a member of Legislative Assembly, one should have attained the age of 25 years. | The minimum age of members of Legislative Council is 30 years |
It must be noted that both Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council are important part of the State Legislature and under the state legislature is led by the Governor of the State. The Parliament of India has the power to set up or abolish the Legislative Council in the State.
Static GK and Current Events Questions and Answers: 24th May 2021