Legislative Council

Legislative Council

Subject – Polity

Context – Hours after HC remarks on nomination of MLCs, Maharashtra Governor meets Amit Shah.

Concept –

• India has a bicameral system of legislature. Just as Parliament has two Houses, the states can also have a Legislative Council in addition to the Legislative Assembly through Article 169 of the Constitution.
• Six States having a Legislative Council: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka.
  • In 2020, Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the resolution for abolition of the Legislative Council. This resolution is yet to be cleared by the Parliament of India to finally abolish the council.
  • In 2019, the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Council was abolished through the J&K Reorganisation Bill, 2019, which reduced the State of J&K to the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
  • Also recently, the West Bengal government has decided to set up a Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad).

Article 169 (Creation and Abolition) – The Parliament can abolish a Legislative Council (where it already exists) or create it (where it does not exist) by a simple majority, that is, a majority of the members of each House present and voting, if the legislative assembly of the concerned state, by a special majority, passes a resolution to that effect.

Composition:

• Under Article 171of the Constitution, the Legislative Council of a state shall not have more than one-third of the total strength of the State Assembly, and not less than 40 members.
• Like the Rajya Sabha, the legislative council is a continuing chamber, that is, it is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution. The tenure of a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) is six years, with one-third of the members retiring every two years.

Manner of Election:

• One-third of the MLCs are elected by the state’s MLAs,
• Another 1/3^rdby a special electorate comprising sitting members of local governments such as municipalities and district boards,
• 1/12^thby an electorate of teachers and another 1/12^th by registered graduates.
• The remaining members are appointed by the Governor for distinguished services in various fields namely, literature, science, art, cooperative movement and social service.

Role of Legislative Council:

• It can ensure individuals who might not be cut out for the elections are able to contribute to the legislative process (like artists, scientists, etc).
• It can keep an eye on hasty decisions taken by the Legislative Assembly.