Parliament (PART) 3

Any dispute about the disqualification of a member of Parliament shall be referred to the President, who will take a decision on the advice of the Election Commission and the decision Shall be final according to article 103. In case of disqualification on grounds of defection, the matter will be decided by the Speaker or Chairperson of Rajya Sabha as the case may be.

Leader of Opposition is a post in Parliament which is occupied by the leader of the single largest political party in opposition that has got at least 10% of seats of the total strength of Lok Sabha. It is not offered to the leader of an alliance or coalition. A.K.Gopalan was first leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha. He/she enjoys the rank of a Cabinet Minister. After the split of the Congress in the Fourth Lok Sabha in 1969, Congress (O) leader Ram Subhag Singh was the first person to be officially recognized as the Leader of the Opposition. But this post became legally tena we only after 8 years. For the first time after the Janata Party came to power in the 1977 elections, the Act related to the salary and allowances of the Leader of the Opposition was passed.

Both the Public Accounts Committee and Estimates Committee help in strengthening the financial control of Parliament over the executive. Estimates Committee has a role in Budget planning i.e. it has a role before approval of expenditure from Parliament. Whereas Public Accounts Committee plays its role when actual expenditure has been made i.e., auditing the expenditure. That is why Public Accounts Committee and Estimates Committee are termed as twin sisters.

Public Accounts Committee is the oldest Parliamentary Committee. It helps Parliament in strengthening its financial control over the executive. It consists of 22 members, out of which 15 represent from Lok Sabha and 7 Rajya Sabha. The Chairman of this committee is appointed by the Speaker of Lok Sabha from among the Lok Sabha members of the committee. As a part of healthy parliamentary proceedings, the chairman of this committee is appointed from among the senior opposition members.

The Estimates Committee is the largest parliamentary committee, consisting of 30 members who are elected by the Lok Sabha every year from among its members. It analyses the expenditure and revenue estimates of various departments and suggests alternative policies in order to bring about efficiency in economy and administration.

The Parliament sits thrice in a year in Budget Session (February to May), Monsoon Session (July to September) and Winter Session (November to December). The period during which the House meets to transact its business is called a session.

• The Constitution of India requires the Parliament to sit for a minimum of two sessions each year. Article 85(1) of the Constitution says: "The
• President shall from time to time summon each House of Parliament to meet at such time and place as he thinks fit, but six months shall not intervene between its last sitting in last session and the date fixed for its first sitting in the next session."

Narendra Modi is the Leader of the House in the Seventeenth Lok Sabha. Om Birla was elected Speaker of the House. As no party holds 10% of the seats of the total strength of Lok Sabha to secure the position of Leader of the Opposition, currently, there is no Leader of the Opposition. However, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, which is the second largest party.

Article 98 of the Constitution of India defines a sep- arate secretarial staff for each House of Parliament.

• Each House of Parliament shall have a separate secretarial staff: Provided that nothing in this clause shall be construed as preventing the creation of posts common to both Houses of Parliament.
• Parliament may by law regulate the recruitment, and the conditions of service of persons appointed, to the secretarial staff of either House of Parliament.

A parliamentary form of government is a form of government in which the executive derives its power from the legislature and is accountable or responsible to the Parliament.

The Constitution of India provides for reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). Article 330 of the Indian Constitution provides for reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes, and Article 332 provides for reservation of seats for the Scheduled Tribes. The number of seats reserved for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies is proportional to their population in the respective constituencies.