RajyaSabha

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Most modern democracies that have a bicameral legislature do so on the grounds of a federal polity. The
role of the Upper House is to be a deliberative body that would balance what James Madison, the author
of the Federalist Papers, called fickleness and passion of an elected Lower House. The relative size,
scope and power of the two Houses are different in different countries. The US Senate has two senators
from each state with the Senate holding equal power to the House of Representatives. A (very large)
House of Lords in the UK has an advisory role to the House of Commons.

Indias Rajya Sabha has equal powers to the Lok Sabha except for money bills, where it has no
jurisdiction. It is a 250-member body, 12 of whom are appointed from the field of art, literature, science
and social services. Other members are elected by an electoral college made up of state legislators.

Is the Rajya Sabha necessary today?

The contemporary argument against it comes from two primary angles. The first one suggests that a Lok
Sabha that has representation from several regional parties more than adequately represents a federal
country. The recent reversal on the land acquisition ordinance is an example of this federal character of
the Lok Sabha in practice. The second argument charges that the Rajya Sabha has become a haven for
losers in elections, crony capitalists, compromised journalists and party fundraisers. Far from being
deliberative, the Rajya Sabha appears to have descended into the same fickleness and passion as the Lok
Sabha and has shown a disconcerting trend away from the decorum expected from it.

Now for the reality check. It is virtually impossible to abolish the Rajya Sabha without adopting a new
Indian Constitution. The bicameral nature of the Indian Parliament is likely to be interpreted as a basic
structure of the Indian Constitution, rendering it incapable of being amended. Even if this were to be
tested, it would be ensnared in a judicial process for a very long time. It is much more practical to try and
reform the Rajya Sabha than seeking to abolish it.

One useful reform step would be to have members of the Rajya Sabha be directly elected by the citizens of
a state. This will reduce cronyism and patronage appointments. This step should be combined with equal
representation for each state (say, five members) so that large states do not dominate the proceedings in
the House. This streamlined Rajya Sabha should remain deliberative, but there should be deadlines set for
responding to bills initiated in the Lok Sabha.

The Rajya Sabha is here to stay. It is our responsibility to make it an effective and time-bound contributor
to Indias parliamentary system.
Only then will India be able to make (progress) haste, slowly.