Revision summary
Article 169 lets Parliament create or abolish a State Legislative Council after a special-majority Assembly resolution. The parliamentary law is ordinary legislation, not an Article 368 amendment. Article 171 sets the mixed, partly indirect composition of a Council. Andhra Pradesh revived its Council in 2007; the Assembly resolved in January 2020 to abolish it. The stated reason was obstruction of government bills by an opposition-heavy, not fully directly elected House.
Model answer
Introduction
A Legislative Council is the optional second House of a State. Creation and abolition are not done by the Governor’s notification alone; they need a special-majority resolution of the Legislative Assembly and then an ordinary law of Parliament under Article 169.
Body
Procedure of creation and abolition
- Article 168 permits a State to be unicameral or bicameral; Article 169 is the switch.
- The Legislative Assembly must pass a resolution by a majority of its total membership and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting, asking Parliament to create or abolish the Council.
- Parliament may then pass a law to give effect to that resolution; the law is not a constitutional amendment under Article 368, though it may contain supplemental and consequential clauses, including on sitting members.
- Article 171 then governs composition if a Council exists: a mix of Assembly-elected, local-body, graduate, teacher, and Governor-nominated members.
Why the Andhra Pradesh Assembly sought abolition
- Andhra Pradesh’s Council, revived by the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council Act, 2005 and constituted in 2007, had an opposition-heavy indirect membership after 2019.
- In January 2020 the Assembly passed a resolution to abolish the Council because that House was stalling and returning government bills, including legislation tied to the capital and to the new majority’s programme, which the ministry called an undemocratic veto by a House that is not directly elected.
- Abolition still needs Parliament’s law; a State resolution alone does not dissolve the Council.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD A[Assembly special majority] --> P[Parliament ordinary law] P --> C[Council created or abolished] AP[AP Council stalls bills] --> R[Jan 2020 abolition resolution]
Conclusion
Councils are created or abolished when the Assembly passes an Article 169 special-majority resolution and Parliament legislates. Andhra Pradesh’s Assembly sought abolition because the opposition-dominated Council was blocking the elected government’s bills, especially on the capital question.
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Students also ask
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Describe the main provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019.
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Can the Council abolish itself?
No. The initiating resolution must come from the Legislative Assembly. Parliament then has to pass the law.
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Did the 2020 AP resolution immediately end the Council?
No. Until Parliament enacts the abolition law, the Council continues as a House of the State legislature.
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