The New Vice-President and the Challenges Facing the Rajya Sabha
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (The Executive - Vice-President: election, functions; Parliament - Rajya Sabha, its role and powers, different types of Bills).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity & Governance): Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these; Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities. The declining role of the Rajya Sabha is a core Mains topic.
Key Highlights from the News
C.P. Radhakrishnan has been elected as the new Vice-President.
As Vice-President, his primary constitutional duty is to serve as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
He assumes this position at a critical juncture where the role of Parliament, especially the Rajya Sabha, has been weakening recently.
Key challenges faced by the new Chairman:
Hostile and toxic relationship between the ruling party and the opposition.
The tendency to wrongly classify ordinary bills as Finance Bills / Money Bills to bypass the Rajya Sabha's approval.
Even the functioning of Parliamentary Committees becoming partisan.
Protecting the federal character of the Rajya Sabha, the "Council of States," is a major responsibility of the new Chairman.
It remains to be seen if he, having previously spoken in favor of federalism, can bring a new atmosphere of cooperation between the ruling party and the opposition in the House.
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