Difference between legislative assembly and legislative council?

403 votes

The legislature is one of the organs of the government. It has the authority to make laws for the country or a state. The laws created by the legislature are called legislations. There are some common names of the legislature which varies country to country and they are called assembly, congress, diet, estates, parliament, duma etc. Different legislatures perform different functions. However, they are all formed by the representation of the people which is usually through universal adult franchise.

India follows a bicameral legislature system which means that there are two legislatures- one at the centre and the other at the state level. At the state level the legislative system can be divided into two houses i.e., the legislative assembly and the legislative council. The legislative assembly is also called the Vidhan Sabha and the legislative council is called Vidhan Parishad.
 

Legislative Assembly

In India it is also called the Vidhan Sabha. It is much like lower house of the parliament but at the state level. The members of the legislative assembly or Vidhan Sabha are directly elected by the people. From each constituency people elect their representatives who bag a seat at the legislative assembly. These representatives are called Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). Only a Member of the Legislative Assembly can become the Speaker of the state legislature. The term of the legislative assembly is five years. The qualifications required to become a member of the legislative assembly are as follows:

1. The person should be a citizen of India

2. He/she should not be less than 25 years of age to be a member of the Legislative Assembly

3. No person can become a member of the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council of any state, unless the individual is a voter from any constituency of the state.

4. The person should not be convicted of any offence and sentenced to an imprisonment of 2 years or more.
    

Legislative Council

The legislative council is also called the Vidhan Parishad which acts more like the upper house in the state. It is not mandatory to have a legislative council in the state. The institution of a legislative council is outlined under Article 169 of the Indian constitution. As of yet there are only six states which have a legislative council. These states are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. The tenure for Legislative council is of six years and just like the upper house at the centre it is a permanent house which means that it never is dissolved. Legislative Councils cannot have more than 40 members in total. One third members of the council retire every two years. They are either appointed by the governor or indirectly elected by the people.
 

The qualifications for Legislative Council are as follows:

1. The person must be a citizen of India

2. He/she must be at least 30 years old, mentally sound and not an insolvent

3. He/she may or may not be a member of the Parliament and the Member of the State Legislative Assembly at the same time.
    

Differences between Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council

1. The Legislative Assembly works like the lower house of the parliament but at the state level. The Legislative council works similarly like the upper house of the parliament but at the state level.

2. The members of the Legislative assembly are called Members of the Legislative Assembly. Whereas, the members of the Legislative Council are called Members of the Legislative Council.

3. The members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected. The members of the Legislative Council are either appointed by the Governor or indirectly elected by state legislative assemblies, local bodies etc.

4. The tenure for the members of the Legislative Assembly is for 5 years. The tenure for the members of the legislative council is for 6 years.

5. The minimum age requirement for Legislative Assembly is 25 years. The minimum age requirement for Legislative Council is 30 years.

6. It is mandatory for all states in India to have a Legislative Assembly. There are only 6 states which have the Legislative Council.

7. The maximum number of members in the Legislative Assembly are 500 in capacity and the minimum is 60. The number of members in the Legislative Council should not be less than 40 and should be one-third of the members of the Legislative Assembly.

LawRato LawRato

180 votes

The lower house of the State Legislature is called the Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Council is the upper house of State Legislature. The members of the Legislative Assembly can be elected directly. Members of the Legislative Council can be elected directly.

Advocate Chikirsha Mohanty LawRato