Legislative council
Date: 02 December 2020 Tags: ConstitutionIssue
Former actress and nominated member of Maharashtra Legislative Council Urmila Matondkar has joined Shiv Sena.
Details
The State Legislative Council is the upper house in those states of India that have a bicameral state legislature; the lower house being the State Legislative Assembly. Its establishment is defined in Article 169 of the Constitution of India.
Qualification
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MLC must be a citizen of India, at least 30 years old, mentally sound, not an insolvent, and must be enrolled on the voters' list of the state for which he or she is contesting an election.
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He or she may not be a Member of Parliament and Member of the State Legislative Assembly at the same time.
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The tenure of the MLCs is six years. One-third of the members of Legislative Council retire after every two years.
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This arrangement parallels that for the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.
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The size of the State Legislative Council cannot be more than one third of the membership of the State Legislative Assembly. However, its size cannot be less than 40 members.
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The Legislative Council can neither make nor break a state government. The Legislative Council also have no role in the passing of Finance Bills.
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But some of the powers it has is that the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the State Legislative Council enjoy the same status of Cabinet Ministers in the state.
Composition of Legislative council
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One third members are elected by the members of local bodies such as municipalities, Gram panchayats, Panchayat samitis and district councils.
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One third members are elected by the members of Legislative Assembly of the State from among the persons who are not members of the State Legislative Assembly.
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One sixth members are nominated by the Governor from persons having knowledge or practical experience in fields such as literature, science, arts, the co-operative movement, and social services.
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One twelfth members are elected by persons who are graduates of three years' standing residing in that state.
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One twelfth members are elected by teachers who had spent at least three years in teaching in educational institutions within the state not lower than secondary schools, including colleges and universities.
Abolition and creation of MLC
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According to the Article 169 of the Indian constitution, the Indian Parliament can create or abolish the State Legislative Council of a state if that State's Legislative passes a resolution for that with a special majority.
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The Legislative Councils are criticised for being unnecessary. It is considered a burden on the state budget and cause delays in passing legislations.