New Delhi: The process of setting up a Legislative Council in Assam, nearly 66 years after it was abolished, gained momentum as a bill to this effect was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Assam had an Upper House, which was abolished after Independence.
According to the Bill, the Legislative Council will have 42 members.
As per Article 171 of the Constitution, the total number of members in the Council of a state having such a House shall not exceed one third of the total number of members in the Legislative Assembly of that state. In the case of Assam, the total number of MLAs is 126.
The state Legislative Assembly had in 2011 passed a resolution demanding an Upper House as it has been a long-pending demand of various political parties and ethnic groups of the state.
Political parties and groups believe that members of various communities and ethnic, groups which could not be sent to the Assembly, can be accommodated in the Council for a fair representation.
A Bill to create a Legislative Council in Rajasthan was introduced in Parliament recently and has been approved by a Parliamentary Standing Committee.
While approving the bill to create a second chamber in Rajasthan, the standing committee had recommended evolving a national policy for creation and abolition of Legislative Councils in states so that the second chamber does not depend on the “whims and fancy” of any newly-elected government.
It said the “status of the second chamber (of the state legislature) cannot be of temporary nature depending on the mood of the government or the day”.
The report said it cannot be abolished once created at the “whims and fancy” of a newly-elected government in the state. (PTI)
