Revision summary
State Legislative Councils exist under Article 169 and are weaker than Assemblies. They cannot reject money bills or defeat a government. Ordinary bills can only be delayed, then deemed passed by the Assembly. Rajya Sabha is a stronger second chamber than a Vidhan Parishad. The house has revising use, not effective ruling power.
Model answer
Introduction
A State Legislative Council is a second chamber created under Article 169. Compared with the Legislative Assembly it is weak. Calling it a house without any effective powers is a half-truth: it can delay and revise, it cannot rule.
Body
What it cannot do
- Money bills originate only in the Assembly. The Council may recommend within fourteen days; the Assembly may ignore the recommendations (Article 198).
- On other bills it may delay, not veto. After the Assembly’s second passage, the bill is deemed passed (Article 197).
- The Council of Ministers is responsible to the Assembly, not to the Council. No government falls in the upper house.
- Creation and abolition themselves lie with Parliament after a state resolution, so the Council’s existence is politically contingent.
What remains
- A revising chamber can catch drafting errors and give a voice to teachers, graduates, and local-body members where those constituencies exist.
- Delay can matter in a thin Assembly majority or near the end of a session.
- Compared with the Rajya Sabha, which has federal and some exclusive functions (Articles 249, 312), a Vidhan Parishad is far weaker.
- States have abolished councils (West Bengal, Tamil Nadu at times, Punjab, Andhra debates) precisely because parties judged them costly and ineffective.
Comment
- Effective power in a parliamentary system means confidence, money, and final legislative will. The Council lacks those.
- It is not a cipher in every bill, but it is not a coequal house. The statement is substantially right if “effective” means decisive.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD LC[Legislative Council] --> D[Delay and revise] LC --> N[No confidence power] LC --> M[No money veto] LA[Legislative Assembly] --> G[Government and final will]
Conclusion
The Legislative Council is a delaying and revising house without confidence power or a money veto. That is not zero function. It is not effective government. The comment holds for decisive powers.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
The Speaker represents the freedom and dignity of the House. Examine
Next question on this syllabus topic (2022 · Q7(b)). View answer →
-
Why keep a Council at all?
Revision, extra representation, and delay. Those are secondary functions in a parliamentary state.
-
Is the Rajya Sabha equally powerless?
No. It is weaker than the Lok Sabha on money and confidence, but stronger than a State Council in federal legislation.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2022 · Q4(b) · PSIR GS 1 · 15 marks
"The Panchayats with Gram Sabhas should be so organised as to identify the resources locally available for the development in agricultural and industrial sectors." Examine the statement in the context of Gram Swaraj -
2022 · Q5(a) · PSIR GS 1 · 10 marks
Analyse the workers' movement in India in the pre-Independence period. -
2022 · Q7(b) · PSIR GS 1 · 15 marks
The Speaker represents the freedom and dignity of the House. Examine -
2022 · Q8(a) · PSIR GS 1 · 20 marks
Ethnicity is the underlying cause which poses a great challenge in the resolution of the problems in the North-East region of India. Comment -
2021 · Q5(a) · PSIR GS 1 · 10 marks
"The Constitution of India is a product of a historical process, rich with constitutional antecedents." Comment. -
2021 · Q5(d) · PSIR GS 1 · 10 marks
Analyze the Marxist perspective of the nature of Indian National Movement. -
2021 · Q5(e) · PSIR GS 1 · 10 marks
Underline the significance of the first constitutional amendment. -
2021 · Q6(c) · PSIR GS 1 · 15 marks
Do you think that despite having significant limitations the Panchayati Raj Institutions have strengthened the process of democratic decentralization? Give your views
More from this topic
Q7(b) · UPSC Mains 2025 · PSIR GS 1 · 20 marks
Caste remains a vital axis for political mobilisation in India. How would the caste census address the aspirations of people? Discuss
Indian Nationalism
Caste remains a mobilisation axis because it still structures dignity, land, and access to the state, as Kothari, Mandal, and bahujan politics show. Parties already count jatis; the demand is that the official Census should too, beyond SC and ST. Aspirations include fairer reservation design, targeting of welfare, and recognition after the unpublished 2011 SECC caste data. Risks include reification of identity and a pure percentage war that forgets class, gender, and Ambedkar’s horizon of annihilation. A democratic census would publish usable aggregates while protecting persons and keeping constitutional individual rights at the centre.
Q7(a) · UPSC Mains 2025 · PSIR GS 1 · 20 marks
Enunciate the impediments to women's participation in local governance in the process of political decentralisation
Indian Nationalism
The 73rd and 74th Amendments reserved local seats for women, which is a structural opening, not yet equal participation. Sarpanch-pati proxy rule, unpaid care, and a male bureaucracy remain the everyday patriarchal impediments. Caste and class decide which women can act; Dalit women office-holders face additional violence and veto. Thin devolution of money and staff makes many local offices ceremonial, so participation has no policy content. Parties and seat rotation often transfer the reserved ticket to a household rather than building a woman’s public career.
Q6(a) · UPSC Mains 2025 · PSIR GS 1 · 20 marks
Parliamentary Committees are a strong tool of Parliamentary Democracy. It provides for the opportunity for cross-pollination of ideas among members of the Parliament. Discuss
Indian Nationalism
Parliamentary committees are the efficient working form of Indian parliamentary democracy, where bills, grants, and CAG reports can be examined in detail. Department-related Standing Committees mix Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members across ministries; PAC, Estimates, and COPU are the financial core. Cross-pollination happens because the whip is weaker, witnesses bring expertise, and members may agree on technical text they would never concede in the well of the House. The tool fails when bills are not referred, demands are guillotined, or ordinances replace debate. Committees strengthen democracy only if the House and the executive treat their reports as more than annual ritual.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.