Revision summary
The Vice-President is ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha under Articles 64 and 89. The chair keeps order, applies the rules, and has only a casting vote on a tie under Article 100(1). Joint sittings are chaired by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, not by the Vice-President. Removal is by Rajya Sabha resolution of a majority of all then members, agreed to by the Lok Sabha, under Article 67(b). While acting as President under Article 65, the Vice-President does not continue as the sitting Chairman.
Model answer
Copper italics in this answer — like this — are the key facts. Each one is unpacked in the Facts & figures rail.
Introduction
The Vice-President is, by Article 64, ex officio Chairman of the Council of States. That second office is the daily working of the Union’s upper House: order, debate, and a casting vote, not a parallel executive to the President.
Body
Constitutional offices that must be kept distinct
- Article 63 creates the office of Vice-President of India; Article 64 makes that person the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and bars another office of profit.
- When the President’s office is vacant, or the President is unable to discharge functions, the Vice-President acts as President or discharges those functions under Article 65; during that period the duties of Chairman are performed by the Deputy Chairman, because one person cannot preside and act as President at once in the scheme of the text.
- Article 89(1) repeats that the Vice-President is ex officio Chairman; Article 89(2) provides for a Deputy Chairman elected by the Council.
Role on the floor of the Rajya Sabha
- As Chairman, the Vice-President presides over sittings, interprets the Rules of Procedure, admits questions and motions, and maintains order, including naming a member or adjourning a disorderly House.
- Article 100(1) applies to the Chairman as to the Speaker: there is no vote in the first instance, but a casting vote on equality of votes, which is a tie-breaker, not a party whip.
- The Chairman does not preside over a joint sitting of Parliament; Article 108 assigns that duty to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
- Money bills originate in the Lok Sabha; the Chairman’s Rajya Sabha is a revising and deliberative chamber on ordinary legislation, and a co-equal chamber on several other bills, which shapes how the chair manages time.
Removal, impartiality, and Article 67(b)
- Article 67(b) allows removal of the Vice-President by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council and agreed to by the Lok Sabha, after at least fourteen days’ notice.
- Article 92 directs that the Chairman shall not preside while a resolution for his removal is under consideration; the Deputy Chairman or another person then takes the chair.
- That removal process, harder than an ordinary motion, is meant to protect the chair’s independence; it does not make the Chairman a political deputy Prime Minister.
Practical weight of the office
- A Chairman who is trusted across benches can protect Question Hour and committee time; a Chairman seen as partisan damages the Council’s claim to be a House of elders.
- The Vice-President has no independent executive veto in ordinary government; influence as Chairman is procedural and moral, which is still decisive on close divisions and on the dignity of the Opposition.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD V[Art 63 Vice-President] --> C[Art 64 89 ex officio Chairman] C --> P[Presides Rajya Sabha] C --> T[Art 100(1) casting vote] C --> R[Art 67(b) removal by RS plus LS]
Conclusion
As Chairman under Articles 64 and 89, the Vice-President runs the Rajya Sabha, votes only to break a tie under Article 100(1), and can be removed only through Article 67(b). The role is parliamentary, not a second political executive.
Quick related
Students also ask
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Discuss the essential conditions for exercise of the legislative powers by ne Governor. Discuss the legality of re-promulgation of ordinances by the Governor without placing them before the Legislature.
Next question on this syllabus topic (2022 · Q12). View answer →
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Does the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha vote on every bill?
No. There is no ordinary vote. There is only a casting vote if the House is equally divided.
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Can the Lok Sabha remove the Vice-President by itself?
No. Article 67(b) starts in the Rajya Sabha and requires the Lok Sabha only to agree to that resolution.
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