Question

Which of the following statements regarding the election of members of the Upper House is false?
A.For every 2 years, 1/3rd of the members retire.
B.The members of the Rajya Sabha can hold the office for five years
C.The members are elected by indirect election.
D.The members enjoy the same privileges as the members of Lok Sabha.

Answer 1

Hint: In India’s parliamentary system of government, the President serves as the head of the state or the nominal executive and the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister serves as the head of the government or the real executive. The Indian legislative system is a bicameral one which means that there are two houses at the centre—the Lok Sabha (lower house) or the House of People and the Rajya Sabha (upper house) or the Council of States. The Vice-President functions as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and presides over all the meetings and other businesses of the Upper House. The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is elected by the members of the Rajya Sabha. The Deputy Chairman performs the functions of the Chairman if there is a vacancy in the office of the Chairman or when the Vice-President (Chairman of the Rajya Sabha) is discharging the duties of the President.

Complete Step by Step answer: Question is asking for the false statement regarding the election of members of the Upper House. Let's look at the options one by one :

Option A: is incorrect because this statement is true. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and a third of the members retire every two years so the tenure of the members is essentially 6 years.
Option B: is correct because this statement is untrue. Unlike the Lok Sabha, members of the Rajya Sabha do not have a tenure of 5 years.
Option C: is incorrect because this statement is true. The members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the respective states under proportional representation. The Rajya Sabha has a total of 250 members, 238 elected members and 12 members nominated by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
option D: is incorrect because this statement is true. Parliamentary privileges are enjoyed by both the members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Note: The Upper House in the United States is called the Senate and it is a directly elected body while the Upper House in the United Kingdom is called the House of Lords in which membership is granted by appointment or hereditary.