Answer:

The Indian Constitution provides for a bicameral legislature comprising of the Rajya Sabha (RS), representing Indian states with indirectly elected members and the Lok Sabha (LS) representing Indian people with directly elected members.

The RS has been deemed as a secondary house because:

♤ It is considered to be a delaying house, which prolongs the bill passing procedure.

♤ It has an unequal status vis-a-vis LS regarding introduction of money and financial bills and it cannot pass a no-confidence motion.

♤ It is criticized for being a haven for crony capitalists, party fundraisers, etc. who are more interested in their party agenda than their representative states. Further, domicile requirement has been removed post the verdict in Kuldip Nayyar case (2006).

♤ RS elections are notorious for alleged poaching by political parties.

♤ In joint sittings, the will of LS supersedes the apprehensions of RS due to the

former’s numerical strength.

However, there are a number of areas in which it enjoys equal powers to that of LS amd some in which it enjoys greater powers than LS, making it an important Parliamentary institution.

♤ It maintains the federal equilibrium as it protects the interests of the states.

♤ Bills passed hastily in Lok Sabha are intensely scrutinized in the RS.

♤ It provides for representation of eminent society members via nomination who otherwise may not participate in elections.

♤ It has equal powers with the LS regarding ordinary bills, constitutional amendment bills and approval of ordinances.

♤ It has two exclusive powers - to authorize the Parliament to make law on a State list subject (Article 249) and to authorize the Parliament to create new All-India services (Article 312).