I

ndi
anGov
ernmentSy
stem

I
nspiredandguidedbyMahat maGandhiandhi suniquephi l
osophyofSATYAGRAHA andNon
Viol
ence,I
ndiaat
tai
nedherIndependenceon15thAugust1947.Later
,thePeopl
eofI
ndi
a,'
gav
eunt
o
themselv
es',
aConsti
tut
ion,
thathasgov er
nedtheRepubl
icofIndi
asincethen.

Indi
aisaconst it
ut i
onaldemocracywithaparl
iament
arysy stem ofgover
nment ,andattheheartof
thesystem isacommi tmenttoholdregul
ar,f
reeandf ai
relecti
ons.Theseelecti
onsdeterminethe
composi t
ionoft hegov er
nment,themember shi
poft hetwohousesofpar li
ament ,t
hest at
eand
unionterr
itor
ylegisl
ati
veassemblies,
andthePresi
dencyandv i
ce-
presi
dency
.

Feder
alSy st
em
I
ndia,
auni onofstat
es,isaSov
erei
gn,Secul
ar,
Democrati
cRepubl
icwithaParli
ament
arysy
stem of
Gover
nment .TheIndianpol
i
tyi
sgov er
nedintermsoftheConsti
tut
ion,whi
chwasadoptedbythe
Const
ituentAssemblyon26November1949andcamei nt
ofor
ceon26Januar y1950.

ThePr esi
denti stheconst
it
uti
onalheadofExecut i
veoftheUnion.Realexecuti
vepowervestsi na
CouncilofMi ni
sterswit
hthePrimeMi ni
sterashead.Arti
cle74(1)oftheConsti
tut
ionprov
idest hat
ther
eshal lbeaCounci lofMini
ster
sheadedbyt hePrimeMi ni
stertoaidandadviset
hePr esident
whoshal l
,inexerciseofhi
sfuncti
ons,actinaccordancewit
hsuchadv ice.TheCounci
lofMinisters
i
scollecti
velyresponsi
blet
otheLokSabha, theHouseofthePeopl e.

Inthestates,theGov ernor,ast herepresentati

veoft hePr esident,istheheadofExecut i
ve,butr
eal
executi
vepowerr estswi t
ht heChi efMi ni
sterwhoheadst heCounci lofMinist
ers.TheCouncilof
Minist
ersofast at
ei scol l
ectiv
elyresponsibl
et otheel ect
edl egisl
ativeassemblyofthestate.
The Const i
tuti
on gov erns the sharing ofl egi
slat
ive powerbet ween Parl
iamentand t he St
ate
Legisl
atur
es, andprovidesf orthev esti
ngofr esi
dualpower sinPar li
ament.Thepowert oamendt he
Consti
tuti
onal sovestsinPar li
ament .

TheUnionExecuti
veconsi
stsofthePresident
,theVi
ce-Pr
esi
dentandCounci
lofMi
nist
erswi
tht
he
Pri
meMi ni
steratt
heheadtoaidandadvisethePresi
dent.
Presi
dent

ThePr esidenti
selectedbymember sofanElectoralColl
egeconsi st
ingofelectedmember sofbot h
HousesofPar l
iamentandLegi sl
ati
veAssembl iesofthestates,wi thsuit
ablewei ght
agegi v
ent o
eachv ote.Hist
erm ofoffi
ceisfi
veyear
s.
Amongot herpowers,thePresi
dentcanproclai
m anemer gencyi nthecountryifhei ssat
isf
iedthat
thesecur it
yofthecount r
yorofanypar tofi t
st err
it
oryisthreatenedwhet herbywarorext ernal
agressionorarmedr ebell
ion.Whenthereisaf ail
ureoftheconst it
uti
onalmachi neryi
nast ate,he
canassumet ohimselfal
loranyofthefunct
ionsoft hegover
nmentoft hatstat
e.

Vi
ce-
Presi
dent

TheVice-Presi
denti
select
edbythemembersofanel ect
oralcoll
egeconsi st
ingofmember sofbot
h
HousesofPar li
amentinaccor
dancewit
hthesystem ofpropor t
ionalrepr
esentati
onbymeansofa
si
ngletransfer
ablev
ote.Heholdsof
fi
ceforf
iveyears.TheVi ce-
Pr esi
dentisEx-of
fici
oChair
manof
theRaj y
aSabha.
Counci lofMi ni
sters
TheCounci lofMi nisterscompr isesCabinetMi nist
ers,Mini
sterofStates(independentchar geor
otherwise)andDeput yMi nisters.PrimeMi ni
stercommuni catesalldecisi
onsoft heCounci lof
Ministersr elati
ngt oadmi nistrationofaf f
airsoft heUnionandpr oposalsforl egi
slati
ont othe
President.Gener al
ly,eachdepar tmenthasanof ficerdesi
gnatedassecr et
arytot heGov ernmentof
I
ndiat oadv iseMi ni
stersonpol icymat t
ersandgener aladminist
rati
on.TheCabi netSecretari
athas
ani mpor tantcoor dinati
ngr olei ndecisi
onmaki ngathi ghestlevelandoperatesunderdi rect
ionof
PrimeMi nister.

TheLegi slat i
veAr m oftheUni on,calledPar l
iament ,consistsofthePr esident,RajyaSabhaandLok
Sabha.Al llegislati
onrequiresconsentofbot hhousesofpar l
iament.Howev er,
incaseofmoneybi ll
s,
thewi l
loft heLokSabhaal wayspr evail
s.
RajyaSabha
TheRaj yaSabhaconsi stsof245member s.Oft hese, 233representstatesanduni onterr
it
oriesand
12member sar enomi natedbyt hePr esident.Electi
onst otheRajyaSabhaar eindir
ect;member sare
electedbyt heelectedmember sofLegi slati
veAssembl i
esoft heconcernedst ates.TheRaj y
aSabha
i
snotsubj ectt odissol
ution,onet hir
dofi tsmember sr eti
reeverysecondy ear.
LokSabha
TheLokSabhai scomposedofr epresentativesoft hepeopl echosenbydi rectelecti
onont hebasis
ofuni v
ersaladul tsuf
frage.Asoft oday,theLokSabhaconsi stsof545member swi t
htwomember s
nomi nated byt hePr esidentt or epresentt heAngl o-I
ndianCommuni ty.Unl essdi ssol
vedunder
unusual ci
r cumst ances,theterm oft heLokSabhai sf iveyears.
IndianElect i
ons- Scal
eofOper ation

Elect
ionsinI ndiaar eev entsinvolvingpol i
ti
calmobi l
isat
ionandor gani sati
onalcompl exit
yonan
amazingscal e.Int he1996el ecti
ont oLokSabhat herewere1,269candi datesfrom 38of fi
cial
ly
recognisednationalandst atepar t
iesseekingel ecti
on, 1,
048candidatesf rom regi
steredparties,not
recognisedand10, 635independentcandi dates.At otalnumberof59, 25,72,
288peopl ev oted.The
Elect
ionCommi ssionempl oyedal most40, 00,000peopl etorunt heel ecti
on.A v astnumberof
civi
li
anpol i
ceandsecur it
yf orceswer edepl oyedt oensur et
hatt heel ect
ionswer ecarriedout
peacefull
y.Thedi rectcostofor ganisingtheelectionamount edt
oappr oximatelyRs.5,180mi lli
on.

Const
it
uenci
es&Reser
vat
ionofSeat
s

Thecountryhasbeendiv i
dedinto543Parli
ament aryConstit
uenci
es,eachofwhichr etur
nsoneMP
totheLokSabha,t hel owerhouseoft hePar l
iament .Thesizeandshapeoft hepar l
i
ament ar
y
const
it
uenciesaredeterminedbyani ndependentDel imit
ati
onCommi ssi
on,whichaimst ocr eat
e
const
it
uencieswhichhav eroughl
ythesamepopul at
ion,subj
ecttogeographi
calconsider
ationsand
theboundari
esofthestatesandadminist
rat
iveareas.

HowConst
it
uencyBoundar
iesar
edr
awnup

Deli
mitati
onisther
edrawi
ngoftheboundariesofpar
li
amentaryorassembl yconst
it
uenciestomake
surethatther
eare,
asnearaspracti
cabl
e,thesamenumberofpeopl ei neachconsti
tuency.I
nIndia
boundari
esar emeanttobeexaminedaftertheten-
year
lycensustor efl
ectchangesinpopulati
on,
forwhi chPar l
iamentbylawest abl
ishesani ndependentDel i
mitationCommi ssi
on,madeupoft he
ChiefEl ecti
onCommi ssionerandtwoj udgesorex- j
udgesf r
om t heSupremeCour torHi ghCour t
.
Howev er,underaconst i
tuti
onalamendmentof1976,del imit
ationwassuspendedunt i
lafterthe
censusof2001,ost ensiblyso t
hatst at
es'family
-planni
ngpr ogr ammeswoul d notaf f
ectt hei
r
polit
icalrepresent
ati
onint heLokSabhaandVi dhanSabhas.Thi shasl edtowidediscrepanciesin
thesizeofconst it
uenci
es, wit
hthelargesthavi
ngov er25,00,
000el ector
s,andthesmallestlessthan
50,000.

Reser
vat
ionofSeat
s

TheConstit
uti
onputsal i
mitonthesizeoftheLokSabhaof550el ectedmember s,apartfr
om two
member swhocanbenomi nat
edbyt hePresidentt or
epresentt
heAngl o-I
ndi
ancommuni ty.There
arealsoprovi
sionstoensuretherepresentati
onofschedul edcastesandschedul edtri
bes,with
reser
vedconsti
tuencieswhereonlycandidatesf r
om thesecommuni t
iescanst andforelecti
on.
Therewasanat tempttopassl
egisl
ati
ontor eserv
eonet hir
doftheseatsf orf
emalecandidatesbut
thedissol
uti
onofLokSabhaf orthe1998el ectionoccurredbeforet hebil
lhadcompl etedits
passagethr
oughparli
ament.

Sy
stem ofEl
ect
ion

Elect
ionstotheLokSabhaar ecarri
edoutusingaf i
rst
-past
-the-
postel
ectoral
system.Thecountr
yis
spli
tupi nt
osepar at
egeographicalar
eas,knownasconst ituenci
es,andtheelector
scancastone
voteeachf oracandi dat
e( al
thoughmostcandi dat
esst andasi ndependent
s,mostsuccessf ul
candidat
esst andasmember sofpoliti
calpart
ies),t
hewi nnerbeingthecandidatewhoget sthe
maximum v otes.

Par
li
ament

ThePar l
i
amentoft heUni onconsistsoft hePr esident,t
heLokSabha( Houseoft hePeopl e)andthe
Raj y
aSabha( CouncilofStates).ThePr esidenti stheheadofcount r
y,andheappoi ntst hePri
me
Mi nist
er,who r unsthegov er
nment ,accor ding tot hepol i
ti
calcompositi
on oft heLokSabha.
Althought hegov er
nmenti sheadedbyaPr imeMi nist
er,theCabi neti
sthecentraldecisi
onmaki ng
bodyoft hegov ernment.Member sofmor et hanonepar tycanmakeupagov er
nment ,andal t
hough
thegov erningparti
esmaybeami nori
tyint heLokSabha, theycanonlygovernasl ongast heyhave
theconf i
denceofamaj orit
yofMPs,t hemember soft heLokSabha.Amongstt het wohouses,t he
LokSabhai sthemai nlegisl
ati
vebodywhi chf ormst hegov er
nmentandt akesal lvi
taldecisi
ons
alongwi ththesupportoftheRajy aSabha.

Raj
yaSabha-TheCounci
lofSt
ates

Themember soft heRajyaSabhaareel ect

edindir
ectl
y,ratherthanbytheciti
zensatl arge.Raj ya
Sabhamember sareelect
edbyeachst ateVidhanSabhausi ngt hesi
ngl
etransferabl
ev ot
esy stem.
Unli
kemostf eder alsy
stems,thenumberofmember sretur
nedbyeachst at
eisr oughl
yinpr opor ti
on
totheirpopulation.Atpresentther
eare233member soft heRaj y
aSabhael ectedbyt heVi dhan
Sabhas,andt herearealsot welvemember snomi natedbyt hePresi
dentasr epr
esentati
v esof
l
it
erature,sci
ence,ar tandsoci alser
vices.Rajy
aSabhamember scanser vef orsixy ears,and
el
ect
ionsar
est
agger
ed,
wit
honet
hir
doft
heassembl
ybei
ngel
ect
edev
ery2y
ear
s.

Nomi
nat
edmember
s

The presi
dentcan nomi nate 2 Anglo-I
ndian members oft he LokSabha i
fiti
sf el
tt hatt
he
repr
esentati
onoft heAnglo-I
ndiancommuni tyisi
nadequate,and12Veteranmember
soft heRaj
ya
Sabha,torepresentl
it
erat
ure,science,
artandthesoci
alservi
ces.

St
ateAssembl
ies

Indi
ai saf ederalcountry,andt heConst ituti
ongivesthest atesandunionterri
tor
iessignifi
cant
controlovert hei
rowngov ernment .TheVidhanSabhas( legisl
ativ
eassembli
es)aredirectl
yelected
bodiessetupt ocarryi
ngoutt headmi ni
str
ationofthegovernmenti nt
he25StatesofIndia.I
nsome
stat
est hereisabi cameralorganisationoflegisl
atur
es,wi
thbot hanupperandLowerHouse.Twoof
thesev enUni onTer ri
tor
iesv i
z.,theNat i
onalCapi t
alTerri
toryofDelhiandPondicherr
y,haveal so
l
egislati
veassembl i
es.

El
ect
ionstot heVidhanSabhasar ecarri
edoutinthesamemannerasf ortheLokSabhael ecti
on,
wi
ththestatesandunionterr
it
oriesdi
videdi
ntosi
ngle-
memberconst i
tuenci
es,andthefi
rst
-past
-the
-
postelect
oralsystem used.Theassembl i
esrangeinsize,accordi
ngt opopulat
ion.Thelargest
Vi
dhanSabhai sforUtt
arPradesh,wit
h425member s;t
hesmallestPondicher
ry,wi
th30member s.

Pr
esi
dentandVi
ce-
Presi
dent

ThePr esidentiselectedbytheel ectedmember softheVidhanSabhas, LokSabha, andRajyaSabha,

andser vesf oraper iodof5y ear s( alt
houghtheycanst andforre-electi
on).Af ormulaisusedt o
al
locatev otessot hereisabal ancebet weenthepopulati
onofeachst at
eandt henumberofv otes
assembl ymember sf r
om astatecancast ,andt ogiveanequalbalancebet weenst at
eandnat i
onal
assembl yPar l
iamentmember s.I fnocandi datereceiv
esamaj ori
tyofv otesthereisasy st
em by
whichl osingcandi datesareeliminat edfrom thecontestandvotesf ort hem transf
err
edt oother
candidates,untilonegai namaj orit
y .TheVicePr esi
dentisel
ectedbyadi rectvoteofallmember s
el
ectedandnomi nated,oft
heLokSabhaandRaj yaSabha.

Si
ngl
eTr
ansf
erabl
eVot
eSy
stem

Electionf orthemember soft heRaj y

aSabhaandt hePr esidentar ecar r
iedoutusi ngt hesingle
transfer ablev ot esystem.Thesi ngletransf erablev ot
esy stem isdesi gnedt oensur emor ediverse
represent ation,byr educingt heoppor tunityf orblocksofv oterstodomi natemi nor
it
ies.Thebal l
ot
paperl ist
sal lcandi datesst andingf orel ectionandt hev oters'li
stt hem inor derofpr ef
erence.A
threshol dnumberofv otes,knownast he' quota'isset ,whi chcandi dateshav etoachievet obe
elected.Forpr esi
dentialelect i
onst hequot ai ssetatonemor et hanhal ft henumberofv otes,
ensur ingt hatt hewi nneristhecandi datewhoget sacl earmaj ori
ty.FortheRaj y aSabhathequot ai s
setatt henumberofv otesthatcanbeat t
ainedbyj ustenoughMPst ofil
lalltheseatsbutnomor e.
Vot est hatar edeemedsur plus, t
hosegi vent ocandidateswhohav eal readygotaf ul
lquotaofvotes,
orv otesgi vent ocandi dateswhoar edeemedt obel osingcandi dates,ar etransferr
edaccor di
ngt o
thev ot er'
slistedpr eferences, until
ther ightnumberofcandi dateshav ebeenel ected.
I
ndependentEl
ect
ionCommi
ssi
on

AnindependentElect
ionCommissi
onhasbeenest
abl
i
shedundert
heConst
it
uti
oni
nor
dert
ocar
ry
outandregul
atetheholdi
ngofel
ecti
onsi
nIndi
a.

TheElecti
onCommi ssi
onwasest abl
ishedinaccor dancewiththeConsti
tuti
onon25thJanuary
1950.Ori
ginal
l
yaChi efElecti
onCommissionerranthecommi ssi
on,
butfi
rstin1989andl
ateragai
n
i
n1993t woaddit
ionalEl
ect i
onCommissionerswereappoint
ed.

TheElecti
onCommissi
oni sresponsibl
efort heconductofelect
ionst
o par
li
amentand st
ate
l
egi
slat
uresandt
otheof
ficesofthePresi
dentandVice-
Presi
dent
.

TheEl ect
ionCommi ssi
onpr epares,maintai
nsandper i
odical
lyupdatestheEl ectoralRoll
,which
showswhoi sentit
ledtov ote,supervi
sesthenomi nationofcandi dat
es,regist
erspol i
ti
calpart
ies,
moni t
or stheelect
ioncampai gn, i
ncl
udi
ngcandidates'funding.Ital
sofacil
i
tatesthecov erageofthe
electi
onpr ocessbyt hemedi a,organi
sesthepolli
ngboot hswher evoti
ngt akespl ace,andlooks
afterthecountingofv otesandt hedecl
arat
ionofresult
s.Al lthi
sisdonetoensur ethatelect
ionscan
takepl aceinanorderlyandfairmanner.

Atpr
esent,ther
e ar
et wo El
ecti
on Commissi
oner
sappointed byt
he Presi
dent
.Chi
efEl
ect
ion
Commissi
onercanberemovedfr
om off
iceonl
ybyparl
i
amentaryi
mpeachment.

TheCommissi
ondeci
desmostmat
ter
sbyconsensusbuti
ncaseofanydi
ssensi
on,t
hemaj
ori
ty
vi
ewprev
ail
s.

STATELEGI
SLATURE

Thest atelegi
slat
ureisbicamer ali
nsomeandi nsomeitisunicameral
.Inmoststateslegislat
ureis
unicamer al
.Inunicameralstatelegisl
atur
et he(onl
y)houseiscall
edLegisl
ati
veAssembl y.Instates
wher etherearetwohousest hereisaLegislati
veCouncilal
ongwithLegisl
ati
veAssembl y.Insucha
caseLegi slat
iveAssemblyist heLowerHouseoft heStateLegisl
atur
ewhiletheLegisl
ati
v eCouncil
i
st heUpperHouse.Gov er norisani nt
egralpartoft
heStateLegisl
atur
e.

TheLegislat i
veAssembl yconsistsofnotmor ethan500member sandnotl essthan60.Thebi ggest
stat
eUt t
arPr adeshhas425member sinitsAssembl y.Stateswhi chhav esmal lpopulati
onandar e
smallin si zehav eapr ovisi
on f orhav i
ng even lessernumberofmember si nt heLegi slat
ive
Assembly .Pondi cher ry,Mizoram,Ar unachalPr adeshhav eonl y30member seach.Si kkim has32
member s.Al lmember soft heLegi slativeAssembl yareelectedont hebasisofadul tfranchise,and
onememberi sel ectedf rom oneconst it
uency.Justast hePr esidenthast hepowert onomi nate2
AngloIndianst ot heLokSabha,si milarl
y,theGov ernoralsohast hepowert onomi nateacer t
ain
numberofmember sf rom theAngl oI ndi
ancommuni tyashedeemsf it
,ifheisoft heopi niont hat
theyarenotadequat elyrepresentedi nt heAssembl y.
TheLegi slativeCounci lconsistsofnotmor et han1/ 3r
doft het otalstrengthoft heLegi slat
ive
Assemblyoft hest at
eandnotl esst han40.Themember soft heLegi sl
ati
veCounci lareelect edas
wellasnomi nated.Br oadlyspeaki ng, 5/6thofthetotalmember soft heCouncilareindirectl
yel ected
and1/6t
harenominat
edbytheGovernor
.Thecomposit
ionisasfol
lows:
i
)1/3ofthetot
almembersoftheCounci
lareel
ectedbyelect
orat
esconsist
ingofmember
sofl
ocal
bodi
essuchascorpor
ati
ons,
munici
pali
ti
esandzil
apari
shads.

i
i)1/3arebeel ectedbymember sofLegi sl
ati
veAssemblyfrom amongt hepersonswhoar enot
membersoft heAssembl y
.
i
ii
)1/12areelectedbyelectorat
esconsist
ingofpersonswhoar egr aduatesofthr
eey earsstandi
ng,
r
esidi
nginthatstate.
i
v)1/12areelectedbyelectorat
esconsist
ingofpersonsengagedf oratleastt
hreeyear si
nteaching
i
neducati
onal i
nsti
tut
ionswi t
hinthest
ate,notloweri
nstandardthansecondaryschool s.

v)Ther emai
nderarenominat
edbyt heGov ernorfrom personshav
ingknowledgeorpr act
ical
exper
iencei
nfi
eldssuchasl
egi
slat
ure,
sci
ence,arts,
co-oper
ati
vemovementandsocial
ser
vice.

Qual
i
ficat
ionf
ormember
shi
poft
hest
atel
egi
slat
ure

Thequal ifi
cat
ionstobeamemberoft hestat
eLegislat
urearel
argel
ysimil
artothequalif
icati
onsto
bethemember sofPar l
i
ament .Apersoncanbecomeamemberoft heLegi
slati
veAssembl yofthe
stat
ei fheorshei s
i
)aci tizenofIndiaii
)notl essthan25yearsofaget obememberoft heLegislati
veAssembl yand
notlesst han30tobeamemberoft heLegisl
ati
veCouncil
.Nopersoncanbecome. amemberoft he
Legi
slat i
veAssembl yort heLegisl
ati
veCouncilofanystat
e,unl
esshehi mselfisav ot
erfrom any
consti
t uencyofthestate.Thosewhocannotbecomemember sofParl
iamentcanal sonotbecome
member sofstateLegisl
ature.

Ter
m

Thet erm oft

heLegi
slat
iveAssemblyisfi
veyears.Buti
tmaybedi ssol
vedev enearl
i
erthanf
ive
yearsbytheGover
norontherequestofChi
efMini
ster
.Theter
m oftheLegi
slat
iveAssembl
ymaybe
extendedduri
nganEmergency,
butnotmorethansixmonthsatati
me.

TheLegisl
ati
veCounci
listheUpperHousei
ntheStat
e.Justl
i
ket
heRajy
aSabhaiti
saper
manent
Houseandcannotbedi ssol
ved.Theter
m ofeachmemberis6year
sand1/3r
dmembersofthe
Housereti
reaft
erev
erytwoyears.

Pr
esi
dingOf
fi
cer
s

Youhav er eadaboutt hePresidingoff

icer softheLokSabhaandt heRaj y
aSabhaI nthesameway
theLegislati
v eAssemblyandt heLegislativeCouncilal
sohav ePr esidi
ngOf f
icers.TheLegi sl
ative
AssemblyhasaSpeakerandaDeput ySpeaker .Theyar eelectedfrom amongt hemember soft he
House.TheLegi slati
veCounci lhasaChai r
manandaDeput yChai r
man.Theyar eelect
edf rom
amongi tsmember s.Thefunctionsperformedbyt hesepresi
dingofficersaresimilartothefunction
ofpresi
di ngof fi
cersofthet woHousesofPar l
i
ament .TheSpeakeroft heAssembl ycandeci de
whetherabi llisamoneybi l
lornot .Pr
esi dingOff
icersofbotht heHouseshav et herighttoexercise
cast
ingv oteincaseoft i
e.
Power
soft
heSt
ateLegi
slat
ure

Themosti mport
antf unctionoftheLegi
slatur
eisl awmaki
ng.TheStateLegi
slat
urehasthepower
tomakel awsonal litemsonwhi chParli
amentcannotlegi
slat
e.Someoft heseitemsarepol
ice,
pri
sons,ir
ri
gati
on,agr icul
ture,l
ocalgovernments,publ
ichealt
h,pi
lgr
images,buri
algroundsetc.
Somei t
emsonwhi chbot hParl
iamentandst atescanmakel awsareeducation,marri
ageand
di
vorce,f
orest
s,pr
otect ionofwil
danimalsandbirdsetc.

AsregardsMoneyBil
l,theposit
ioni
sthesame.Bill
scanorigi
nateonl
yinmeLegi
slat
iveAssembly
.
TheLegisl
ati
veCouncilcaneit
herpasst
hebil
lwithi
n14day sfr
om thedat
eoft
hereceiptoft
heBil
l
orsuggestchangesini twi
thi
n14day s.Butthesechangesmayormaynotbeaccept edbythe
Assembly.

TheSt
ateLegislatur
ebesi
desmaki
ngl
awsalsohasoneel
ect
oralpower
,m el
ecti
ngthePresi
dentof
I
ndiameel ectedmember softheLegi
slat
iveAssembl
yalso t
akepartalong wi
ththeelected
membersofPar l
iament
.

Wehav eseent hatsome,part

softheConst
it
utioncanbeamendedbyParl
i
amentwit
htheapprov
al
ofhal
fofSt ateLegisl
atur
es.ThustheSt
atelegisl
atur
est
akepar
tinthepr
ocessofamendmentof
ourConst
ituti
on.

Mini
stersinthestategover
nment sareresponsibl
et otheVi dhanSabha( Legisl
ativ
eAssembl y)of
thest
ate.LikeLokSabhaatthecentre,
stateAssembl yalsokeepsconst antv i
giloverstat
e'sCounci
l
ofMinister
s.Thisisdonethroughquestions,supplementaryquestionsandadj ournmentmot i
ons.
TheAssembl ymayforcetheChiefMini
sterandtheCounci lofMinist
ertor esignifi
tadopt savoteof
noconfidenceagai
nstthegovernment,
orifagov ernmentproposal,bil
lorbudgeti srejec