The word ‘Parliament’ is an English word. This English word has been taken from a French word ‘Parler’ whose meaning is to have conversation. In this way Parliament is that institution where people sit and communicate with each other on national and international issues.
Establishment: There are two houses of Parliament—Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
1. Lok Sabha: Lok Sabha is the house of the people. It is known as the lower house. At present, 545 members of Lok Sabha are there. Out of these, 543 members are directly elected by all the adults of the country. Rest of the members are nominated by the President. Seats for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes are reserved in Lok Sabha. It is a temporary house which can be dissolved by the President, according to the Constitution.
2. Rajya Sabha: Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by elected members of Legislative Assemblies of states and union territories. It has a total of 250 members out of which 238 members are elected by states and union territories. Rest of the 12 members are nominated by the President. Rajya Sabha is a permanent house. It cannot be dissolved completely. But one third of the total members of Rajya Sabha retires after every two years. New members are elected after their retirement.
