1

INTRA
MUN 2017

LOK SABHA

LETTER FROM THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Members of Parliament,
Greetings!
We are very pleased to welcome you to the simulation of Lok Sabha at the 1st Intra MUN Competition. It will
be an honour and a privilege to serve as your Organizing Committee for the duration of the conference.

This Background Guide is designed to give you an insight into the case at hand. Please refer to it carefully.
Remember, a thorough understanding of the problem is the first step to solving it. However, bear in mind that
this Background Guide is in no way exhaustive and is only meant to provide you with enough background
information to establish a platform for beginning the research. Delegates are highly recommended to do a good
amount of research beyond what is covered in the Guide.

Finally, we would like to wish you luck in your preparation and congratulate you on being allotted to Lok Sabha.
In case you have any questions, procedural or otherwise, please feel free to direct them to any member of the
Organizing Committee and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Please do not hesitate to contact us with
any queries or concerns. We expect all participants to be well versed with the various nuances of the agendum,
and geared up for an intense debate, deliberations and great fun.

Looking forward to meet you at the conference.

ZENAB ALI PRATHAM AJMERA

Chairperson of MUN SOCIETY Vice Chairperson of MUN Society
zenabali.16@gmail.com prathamajmera2801@gmail.com
 1 . ABOUT
Lok Sabha is composed of representative of the people chosen by direct election on
the basis of adult suffrage. The maximum strength of the House envisaged by the
Constitution is 552, upto 530 members to represent the States, up to 20 members to
represent the Union Territories and not more than two members of the Anglo-Indian
Community to be nominated by the President, if, in his opinion, that community is
not adequately represented in the House. The total elective membership is distributed
among the States in such a way that the ratio between the number of seats allotted to
each State and the population of the State is, so far as practicable, the same for all
States.i

The qualifying age for membership of Lok Sabha is 25 years. The Lok Sabha at
present consists of 545 members including the Speaker and two nominated members.

Lok Sabha, unless sooner dissolved, continues for five years from the date appointed
for its first meeting and the expiration of the period of five years operates as
dissolution of the House. However, while a Proclamation of Emergency is in
operation, this period may be extended by Parliament by law for a period not
exceeding one year at a time and not extending, in any case, beyond a period of six
months after the proclamation has ceased to operate.
2. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE LOK SABHA:

i. . Legislative Powers:

An ordinary bill can become law only after it has been passed by both the Houses of
Parliament. It can be introduced either in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. When a bill is
introduced and passed by the Lok Sabha, it is sent to the Rajya Sabha. After it has secured the
approval of Rajya Sabha, it goes to the President for his signature.

After this it becomes a law. Although ordinary bills can be introduced in either of the two
houses of Parliament, almost 90% of the bills are actually introduced in the Lok Sabha. In
case the Rajya Sabha rejects a bill passed by the Lok Sabha and returns it with or without
some amendments, the Lok Sabha reconsiders the bill.
If the Lok Sabha re-passes it and the Rajya Sabha is still not prepared to pass it, a deadlock
occurs. If this deadlock remains unresolved for six months, the President summons a joint
sitting of the two Houses. The decision of the joint sitting is accepted by both the Houses.

ii. Executive Powers:

For all its work, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible before the Lok Sabha.
The leader of the majority in the Lok Sabha becomes the Prime Minister. Most of the
ministers are from the Lok Sabha. The ministers remain in office so long as they enjoy the
confidence of majority in the Lok Sabha.

The Lok Sabha can remove the ministry from office by passing a vote of no- confidence
against it. Thus, the life and death of the Ministry depends upon the Lok Sabha. The Lok
Sabha maintains a continuous control over the Council of Ministers.

MPs can ask questions from ministers about their policies and activities of administration.
They can criticise their policies. They can move and adopt several types of resolutions and
motions (adjournment motion, call attention motion, censure motion and no-confidence
motion) and can reject any bill of the government.

If the Lok Sabha:

(i) Rejects any policy or decision of the Cabinet,

(ii) Or disapproves the budget or a bill of the government, or

(iii) Passes a vote of no- confidence against the Prime Minister, it is. Taken to be a vote of no-
confidence against the entire Council of Ministers and it resigns en masse.

iii. Financial Powers:

The Lok Sabha has vast financial powers. A money bill can be introduced only in the Lok
Sabha. After having been passed by it, the money bill goes to the Rajya Sabha. Such a bill
can be delayed by the Rajya Sabha for a maximum period of 14 days.
If the Rajya Sabha fails to pass a money bill and 14 days elapse from the date of the
submission of the bill to it, the money bill is deemed to have been passed by both the houses
of Parliament. It is sent to the President for his signature.

In case of any dispute as to whether a particular bill is a money bill or not, the Speaker of the
Lok Sabha gives the decision. His decision is final and it cannot be challenged in any court or
even in the Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha. Thus, we can any that the Lok Sabha has the final
control over the finances of state. No tax can be levied or collected or changed or abolished
without the approval of the Lok Sabha. The fiscal policies of the government cannot be
implemented without the consent of the Lok Sabha.

iv. Judicial Powers:

The Lok Sabha also performs some judicial functions. The impeachment proceedings can be
taken up against the President either in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. The President can
be removed from office only when an impeachment resolution is adopted by each of the two
Houses with a 2/3 majority of its members.

The Lok Sabha also investigates the charges prepared by the Rajya Sabha against the Vice-
President of India. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha can together pass a resolution for the
removal of any judge of the Supreme Court or of a State High Court.

Both the Houses can jointly pass a special address and present it to the President for the
removal of some high officers of the state like the Attorney General, the Chief Election
Commissioner and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Lok Sabha can also take
action against any member or any citizen who is held to be guilty of committing contempt of
the House.

v. Electoral Functions:

The Lok Sabha also performs some electoral functions. The elected members of the Lok
Sabha take part in the election of the President. Members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya
Sabha together elect the Vice-President of India. The members of the Lok Sabha also elect a
Speaker and a Deputy Speaker from amongst themselves.

6. Some Other Powers of Lok Sabha:

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha jointly perform the following functions:

a. Approval of the ordinances issued by the President

b. Change of the boundaries of the states. State, creation of new states and
change in the name of any state.

c. Changes in the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

d. Changes the qualifications of the members of the Parliament and State

Legislatures.

e. Revising the salary and allowances of the members of Parliament,

f. The setting up of Joint Public Service Commission for two or more states.

g. Passing of a resolution for abolishing or creating the upper chamber of a state

legislature,

h. Approval of a Declaration of Emergency.

AGENDA: UNIFORM CIVIL CODE
 RESEARCH AND NATURE OF SOURCES/EVIDENCE

This Background Guide is meant solely for research purposes and must not be cited as
evidence to substantiate statements made during the workshop. Evidence or proof for
substantiating statements made during formal debate is acceptable from the following
sources-

1. United Nations and related U.N Bodies Reports:

Documents/Reports/Journals from United Nations and its various bodies will be accepted as
credible proof during the formal business of the house.

Example:

United Nations: www.un.org/en/

2. News Sources:
i. Reuters: Any Reuters article that clearly makes mention of the fact or is in
contradiction of the fact being stated by a delegate in council.
ii. State operated News Agencies: These reports can be used in the support of or against
the State that owns the News Agency. These reports, if credible or substantial enough,
can be used in support of or against any country as such but in that situation, may be
denied by any other country in the council.
Some examples are

Press Trust of India www.ptinews.com

Press Information Bureau: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/mainpage.aspx

3. Government Reports:

These reports can be used in a similar way as the State Operated News Agencies reports and
can, in all circumstances, be denied by another country. However, a nuance is that a
report that is being denied by a certain country can still be accepted by the
Executive Board as a credible piece of information. Examples are Government
Websites like-

Lok Sabha: http://loksabha.nic.in/

National Portal of India: https://india.gov.in/

Law Commission of India : http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/

4. Multilateral Organizations

Documents from international organizations like the United Nations (UNO), North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN), etc. Documentation from Treaty based bodies like the Antarctic Treaty
System, or the International Criminal Court may also be presented.

[Note- Under no circumstances will sources like Wikipedia, or newspapers like The
Guardian, Times of India etc. be accepted. However, notwithstanding the
aforementioned criteria for acceptance of sources and evidence, delegates are still
free to quote/cite from any source as they deem fit as a part of their statements.]
i Lok Sabha Website: http://loksabha.nic.in/