Revision summary
Rajya Sabha can authorise Parliament under Article 249 to legislate on a State List matter in the national interest. Article 312 requires its resolution before a new All-India Service is created. It is a permanent House, not subject to dissolution. Removal of the Vice-President must be initiated in the Rajya Sabha. Money bills and confidence remain Lok Sabha powers, the reverse of these special keys.
Model answer
Introduction
The Rajya Sabha is the permanent second chamber. In money and confidence it is weaker than the Lok Sabha, but the Constitution gives it a few federal keys that the House of the People cannot turn alone or at all.
Body
Federal legislative keys
- Article 249 lets the Rajya Sabha, by a two-thirds resolution of members present and voting, authorise Parliament to make laws on a State List subject in the national interest; the Lok Sabha has no such initiating power.
- Article 312 likewise requires a Rajya Sabha resolution before Parliament may create a new All-India Service common to the Union and the States.
Chamber and office
- The Council of States is not subject to dissolution; one-third of members retire every two years, which the Lok Sabha, a dissolvable House, cannot claim as a power but which is a structural privilege of the Council.
- A resolution to remove the Vice-President, who is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, can be moved only in the Council of States (Article 67(b)); the Lok Sabha may only then agree.
What is not “special” in this sense
- Ordinary bills are co-equal, subject to a joint sitting that favours the larger Lok Sabha; money bills and confidence are Lok Sabha domains, so they are the opposite of Rajya Sabha-only powers.
- Approval of emergency proclamations and impeachment of the President are shared, not exclusive to the Council.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD RS[Rajya Sabha] --> A249[Article 249 State List in national interest] RS --> A312[Article 312 All-India Service] RS --> VP[Vice-President removal first] RS --> P[Permanent House]
Conclusion
Rajya Sabha’s true special powers are the Article 249 national-interest switch onto the State List, the Article 312 gate for All-India Services, permanence against dissolution, and exclusive initiation of Vice-Presidential removal. Those are federal and chamber privileges the Lok Sabha does not enjoy.
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Can the Rajya Sabha reject a money bill?
No. It can only recommend changes. If the Lok Sabha does not accept them, the bill is deemed passed.
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Does Article 249 permanently move a subject to the Union List?
No. It is a time-bound parliamentary competence in the national interest, not a constitutional transfer of the entry.
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