Mains Practice Questions

Introduction

Article 89 of the Constitution provides provision for the Chairman (Vice-President of India), presiding over the federal chamber of Parliament. The Rajya Sabha’s design ensures the preservation of federalism as envisioned in the Constitution.

• The Chairman plays a pivotal role in safeguarding state interests and maintaining the balance between the Union and the states through their constitutional powers.

Role of the Chairman in Maintaining Federal Balance

• Legislative Oversight on State-Centric Laws: Guides deliberations on key federal issues, such as:
  • Article 249: When Parliament legislates on state matters in national interest.
  • Article 312: Creating All-India Services that impact state governance.
• Casting Vote in Contentious Decisions: Article 100 provides the Chairman with a casting vote in case of a tie, ensuring a fair and balanced decision.
• Preserving the Federal Character of the Rajya Sabha: As the custodian of the Rajya Sabha’s functioning, the Chairman ensures that debates uphold the constitutional principle of federalism.
  • Encourages discussions on issues directly impacting states, such as GST.
• Ensuring Neutrality and Representation: Maintains impartiality in debates, ensuring equitable representation of both smaller and larger states’ interests.
  • Prevents the dominance of the central government’s narrative by enabling opposition and state-specific concerns to be raised effectively.
• Platform for Addressing Grievances Against Centralization: Provides a forum for states to voice concerns on central encroachments, e.g., misuse of Article 356 (President’s Rule).
  • Enables scrutiny of policies like centrally-sponsored schemes, ensuring states’ fiscal and administrative autonomy is respected.
• Crisis Management and Conflict Resolution: Acts as a balancing figure during legislative deadlocks, ensuring state perspectives are not overshadowed.
  • Promotes consensus-building in contentious matters, fostering cooperative federalism.

Challenges in Maintaining Federal Balance:

• Centralization of Power: Increasing centralization of power in areas such as taxation, law and order, and public administration can undermine states' autonomy, making it difficult for the Chairman to protect the federal structure effectively.
• Political Pressures and Dominance of the Union Government: The Chairman, though constitutionally mandated to be impartial, often faces political pressures, especially when a single party holds a majority.
  • The political affiliation of the Chairman may impact their neutrality, particularly in sensitive matters that have federal implications.
• Structural Reforms in Federal Issues: Complex federal issues, such as inter-state water disputes, resource-sharing, and regional disparities, require more than procedural oversight, they demand structural reforms that the Chairman alone cannot influence.
• Inadequate Representation of State Interests: Despite the Chairman’s role in ensuring balanced representation, there is still the challenge of underrepresentation of smaller states or those with specific regional concerns.

Conclusion

The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha holds a pivotal role in upholding India’s federal balance by ensuring impartial representation and safeguarding state interests. While their constitutional powers allow for critical interventions, challenges like increasing centralization complicate the effective functioning of this role. To strengthen federalism, a more coordinated approach, involving both legislative and structural reforms, is necessary.